The Academy
by Eliza Guerin
Summary: Harry can't stop the dreams. What happens when he attacks Snape and gets removed from the Dursley's? After a summer away can things ever go back to the way they were?
1. It starts

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.  
  
I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know.  
  
I apologize to my readers that have been waiting forever for a new chapter and only get a rewrite of chapter one. Trust me. This will make the whole story much better in the long run.

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Harry's arm yanked against the rough fabric scratching his skin. He kicked out and pulled the cover off his arms. He grabbed it and flung it to the floor. He stumbled off the bed and pushed back into the corner. His shirt was soaked and clung to his skin. He pulled his knees to his chest; the shirt shifted and dragged the salty smelling sweat across his back. He squirmed back farther and froze as heavy tingles shot up his back. It was just a pulled muscle in his back from gardening yesterday. It wasn't from-- they didn't--  
Harry started as Hedwig landed next to him. Her feathers were ruffled from the strong wind that shook the power lines outside the window. He reached out his shaking arm to smooth the downy feathers. "Hi girl." He pulled at the twine holding the letter to her leg. The bow unraveled and the parchment slid to the floor. Hedwig nipped his finger and flew to her cage, dipping her beak in the water dish.  
Harry Potter  
The letters stood out from the parchment; Lupin's handwriting was perfect. If something were wrong it would be messy, hurriedly written. Harry stood and walked to the desk. It wasn't an emergency. So he didn't have to open it right now. He moved to the wardrobe and opened the door. Surely Lupin didn't mean for him to respond before his next scheduled correspondence. To many owls would be suspicious. He pulled out jeans and a t-shirt. And he had a lot of work to do. He pulled off his soaked shirt and dropped it on the floor. He had to finish the gardening today. He pulled the new shirt on. And he should really clean his room. He slipped into the jeans. Dust could be hiding anywhere. He grabbed a belt and pulled it on as tight as it would go. He'd have to move everything around. He sat on the bed and stared at the parchment lying on the floor. He obviously didn't have time to read silly letters. The wind picked it up and it hovered an inch above the ground as it slid closer to the bed. Harry slid off the mattress, glancing back every few seconds. No no. Simply too much to do. He ran to the door and pulled on the knob, listening for Aunt Petunia coming down the hall to unlock the door. He had to much to do. He couldn't stay here all day. His breathing sped up. He couldn't stay in here anymore. He was wasting time. He pulled harder. He had to get out.


	2. Lupin

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know.

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Harry slid into his chair at the table. His face and arms were bright red and stung when they brushed against his shirt. He moved away from the table to keep his arms a safe distance from the tablecloth. His skin felt too tight and yet too thin. It was going to break. His skin would break open and he would just ooze all over the floor. He'd disintegrate. Then Uncle Vernon would really hate him. Aunt Petunia laid a plate in front of him. Apparently his skin posed too big a risk of peeling off in their food and poisoning them for him to cook. She set a plate of mold in front of him. Bean casserole? He stabbed a round bulge with his fork. Beans, mold, the only difference is really a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. He kept his face neutral. He had to eat something. Criticizing the food is a sure way to end up starved. Ungrateful brat. I am. Dudley is eating the same thing. Granted his looks a little less burnt, but it's still the same thing. He's eating it as fast as he can scoop it into his mouth. Though Dudley would probably eat dryer lint if you heated it up and put ketchup on it. Harry stuck the fork in his mouth. He choked on the scent of burned cheese. He swallowed quickly. The voices drifted around him. Dudley was shoveling food into his mouth still. He even sounds like a pig at the trough. Aunt Petunia kept nodding. Harry forced another forkful of food into his mouth. Stale birthday cake sounds really good right about now.

Harry's head was pounding. It was even becoming rhythmic. Harry rubbed his head. Was that a bad thing? He ripped his hand away from his head. His forehead felt like it'd been rubbed raw.

Uncle Vernon's voice faltered. Harry glanced up. Was it so loud that other people could hear it? "Who could that be, rude enough to call during dinner? Dudley, go and see who it is."

Dudley looked longingly down at his empty plate before squirming out of his chair and waddling to the door. Oh. Someone was knocking on the door. Does that mean it wasn't in his head. The doorknob clicked and the door swung open with the slightest creak of the hinges. Dudley screamed and ran back into the kitchen. "It's-It's one of THEM."

Uncle Vernon's eyes darted around. He hefted himself out of his chair and moved it between himself and the door. His lips were pressed tight together and his face flushed darker as the footsteps got louder.

Remus Lupin walked into the kitchen. His pink and blue striped button up shirt hung on his thin frame. His cheeks were sunken in his face. He looked as if he hadn't eaten in awhile. His gray pants were too long and brushed the floor as he walked.

Uncle Vernon spluttered in the face of a wizard that looked almost normal. "What are you doing here? Get out of my house." He tried to back up and bumped into the table. The legs creaked and the water splashed out of Harry's glass.

Remus pulled out his wand and pointed it at Uncle Vernon. "Not until you tell me what you're doing to him." He moved forward and glanced around his bulk to glimpse Harry. He frowned and Harry hid his lobster red arms behind his back.

"Doing? I--We-We are treating him perfectly well. Better than the little brat deserves." He turned on Harry, splashing more water over the table. The liquid soaked into the tablecloth and the wet spot spread toward his plate. "What have you been telling them? You filthy little liar."

Harry pushed himself to his feet knocking the chair to the floor. "I told them I'm fine. I don't know why he's here." His arms were shaking and he clasped his hands behind his back. Everything would get worse after this. The food would get worse, the work would get harder, he'd spend more time locked in his room. He couldn't be locked in his room. He needed to be able to get out. They couldn't trap him in there. Someone would notice. Someone would save him. He tensed all his muscles to conceal the trembling he couldn't stop.

Remus' forehead furrowed and he lowered his wand to his side. "Then why didn't you answer my letter?"

"I was busy. Is that a crime now?" He pulled at the back of his shirt.

Remus took a step toward him, moving around Uncle Vernon whose face blanched at having Remus so close to him. "After what I told you in that--"

"I didn't read it." He moved away from the table and pressed against the wall.

Remus froze and scratched his head with the hand holding his wand. Aunt Petunia pulled Dudley farther away from the table toward the stove. Remus looked over at Harry again. "You didn't read it?"

Harry forced his eyes to stay open. If he closed his eyes maybe everything would go away. But the odds weren't good enough that that would happen. Damn reality. "No--It didn't look important."

Remus grabbed his shoulders and pulled him closer. "You get a letter at five thirty in the morning and you don't think it's important?"

Harry shoved him away and slid across the wall and closer to the back door. Have to have an escape plan. Always have to be able to escape. "No. And so what? Since when do I have to read my mail at a certain time? Maybe I'll have time to read it next week."

Remus moved toward him again. "Harry--"

Harry smacked his hands away and bolted backwards. He slammed into the door and the glass rattled. "Why don't you just leave? We were in the middle of dinner and you're ruining it." He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to slow his breathing. Footsteps echoed down the hallway and the front door shut. He hurried back to the table, righted the chair, and sat down, staring at the food as he ate it.

Uncle Vernon's voice faltered as he sat back down and then returned to normal. Dudley started slurping down a second helping. Aunt Petunia was staring at him every time he glanced up. He kept his eyes on the tablecloth until dinner finished. He picked up the plates and carried them to the sink. He grabbed the soap and started washing them.

The door closed behind him, but the locks didn't turn. Harry sighed and walked to the bed, throwing the blanket back on the mattress. The letter rested against the bed frame. He picked it up and broke the seal on the back. Long lines of text filled the page. He crumpled the envelope with the letter inside. What could that man possibly have to tell him? After three years of knowing one of his parents best friends he'd barely been told anything about his parents. Snape told him more for goodness sakes. All they ever tell me is that I'm just like James. But I'm not. James would never dream--would never let that happen. I'm not like him. But I'll never know because they'll never tell me anything. He threw the letter in the garbage. Why couldn't they leave him alone? He ran his hands through his hair. Why couldn't he make his own choices for once? He chucked his dirty shirt into the bottom of the wardrobe. This was his life. He spread the blanket out on the bed. He had faced everything by himself. He slammed his fists into the desk. He didn't have anyone looking out for him when that man-- He grabbed a book off the floor and threw it at the wall. It's a dream. He tipped over his trunk. It isn't real. He swept everything off the dresser. This isn't-- it isn't happening. His knees collapsed. He squeezed his eyes shut. It's a dream. None of this is happening. It's not--Sirius isn't dead. He's just hiding from the ministry. It'll be safer for him if they're not looking. He curled up on the floor, the cold wood soothing his scorching skin. I'll go live with him next year. He dug his fingers into his rough jeans and pulled his knees closer to his chest. Everything's going to be okay.


	3. Something's wrong

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story. 

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. 

Hey guys. Three chapters rewritten in one day. Go me. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin' ,so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going. 

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Remus slammed his fists on the table. "I'm telling you that something is seriously wrong with him." He ran his hands through his hair and turned away from the Headmaster. 

            Dumbledore sighed and pressed his fingertips together. "Remus. I understand your anger. But all of Harry's letters say that he is all right. We all know that he is lying, but we have to respect that he does not want to talk to us about it." Dumbledore conjured a red flower patterned tea set and set it on the kitchen table. He poured two cups and added cream to Remus' cup, setting it in front of him. He added seven sugar cubes to his own cup and took a sip. 

            Remus scowled but sat and took a sip from the cup. "I saw him, ok? He was badly sunburned. He screamed at me to leave." He took a long drink. "I could understand almost anything he did. Sirius is gone. I don't want to believe it either. But his eyes were dead. He kept trying to hide his arms from me. He moved away every time I came closer. I've never seen--" His head fell into his hands. 

            "He has not dealt with losing Sirius. And while he might work through it better surrounded by friendly faces he is safe with his relatives. Does he not deserve to know that he is in a place where Voldemort can not hurt him?" 

            "Yes, but--" Remus put down his cup and looked at Dumbledore. He sighed and downed the rest of the tea. "Maybe I want him around for myself too." He rested his head on his bent arm. "I miss my friends." 

            Dumbledore stood and wrapped an arm around Remus' shoulders. "As do I my boy. As do I." 

*          * 

            Severus Snape set the wolfsbane potion on the counter and melted back into the shadows, the door barely making a sound as it shut. He slipped past the now silent painting of the fortunately late Mrs. Black and exited the house. These people needed better security. The Fidelius charm alone didn't manage to keep the Potters very safe. He grimaced and stopped in his tracks. He backtracked to the nearest dark alleyway and apparated into the midst of a silent forest, rubbing his arm. The trees whispered as their leaves brushed together. The moist grass squished underneath his shoes and the hem of his black robe darkened even further with moisture. He took a deep breath and entered the clearing dropping to his knees his forehead touching the ground.  The light rain pooled in droplets in his hair and ran down his forehead without the protection of the trees. He blinked water out of his eyes. "You summoned me my Lord?" 

            The Dark Lord reclined on his throne of entwined saplings and moss. He twirled his wand, his eyes never leaving his subject. "Yes. I have a job for you." 

            Severus repressed a shudder at the near glee in the man's voice. "Anything my Lord." He pressed himself closer to the ground. 

            He shifted and leaned forward. "Go and observe Harry Potter." 

            The grass brushed against his face and left wet streaks across his cheeks. "My Lord? He can not be touched while he is with his relations." He was going downhill faster than anticipated. Plans would have to be accelerated to maximize on this.

            Feet hit the ground. "As I well know!" The voice was over his shoulder. Robes mused his hair as he cringed. 

            "Forgive me my Lord." He tensed his muscles to accept the curse.  

            He walked back to his throne. The thin branches creaked as he lowered his weight into it. "In time. Crucio!" 

            Severus clenched his teeth as the pain consumed him. White spots jumped in front of his eyes before all his vision was consumed by white. The onslaught ended and Severus blinked through the backlashes of pain. His vision began to clear and the ground stopped shifting as his equilibrium reasserted itself. 

            "Rise." Severus forced his knees to lock as he pushed himself off the ground. He kept his eyes averted from the throne in front of him. He forced his hands to release their fists and relax at his sides. "I wish to know Potter's attitude. I want to know if he looks or acts as if he's about to break. You will report what you find when I call you. Act quickly. Your time will be limited. 

            Severus nodded. "Yes my Lord." 

            "Leave me." 

            Severus forced his muscles into action and hurried from the clearing as fast as he could without running or appearing nervous. 

*          *  

            Severus downed the potion and felt the heaviness drain from his muscles. He could almost feel the balance restoring itself in his nerves. Severus smashed the empty potion vial against the wall. Idiot! What kind of person chooses this? He could have done anything. He paced in front of his lab table. He could have broken away entirely like--Why had he cast that first black spell? He dropped onto the stool next to the wall. Why had he been so STUPID? He pulled out his wand and pointed it across the room. "Reparo." The glass shards flew together and melted together. He moved slowly across the room and bent down to scoop the vial. He placed it in the rack on his desk. He sighed and pressed his thumb to the bridge of his nose. Watching Harry Potter to see if he was going to break? What was the Dark Lord doing to him? Severus stared at the stone wall.  

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Review and make me a happy happy writing type person 


	4. The park

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know.

Guys, there are so many inconsistencies in this story that it's not even funny. Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh well. More have been erased at this point. Tell me if you still find some in these rewritten chapters.

Another chapter rewritten and much improved if I do say so myself. Go me. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin' ,so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

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Harry flung himself from his bed, tripping over the cover and twisting into the corner. They could see him here. They could get him. He scrambled across the floor, dragging his blanket with his hand. He squeezed into the gap between the dresser and the wall. He pulled the blanket over him. He couldn't stop shaking. The cold from the stone had seeped into his bones. He rubbed his wrists. The skin was dry and red. It had rubbed raw against the chains. He couldn't get away. He scrubbed at his neck. He could still feel it. The hair. Black hair. It was Snape. He was there. He was-- Harry dropped his head to his knees and curled up as tight as he could. "It's a dream. It's a dream. It's a dream." The wood floor blurred and shifted.

Harry smacked his head against the wall. It's a dream. He dug his fingernails into his palm. It's not real. The half-moon indents were purple. Maybe they weren't real either. Maybe this wasn't really his skin.

"Boy! What are you doing?" The door bounced off the wall. Uncle Vernon charged in. Turning around as he searched the room. His eyes narrowed as he moved toward the dresser. "Get out of there now!"

Harry clenched his fingers but his hands still shook. It smelled like cookies. Harry clamped his hands over his mouth as his stomach shifted.

Vernon backed up. "Are you sick?" He scowled. "You will stay in here. I will not have you infecting my family." He stalked out and slammed the door. All his keys clinking together sounded like a wind chime. "Petunia, where are the locks?" His feet pounded down the stairs.

The shadows on the floor stretched out toward the bed. "What's wrong with you?" Dudley pushed against the dresser and it slid a foot farther from the wall.

Harry moved closer to the wall. "Nothing. Go away." Dudley's chocolate covered mouth stunk up the room.

"Oh, of course. Because it's normal to spend all day crammed into a corner." Dudley smirked and moved closer. "What? Did your boyfriend dump you? Not even those freaks would want someone as worthless as you." Dudley snorted and headed for the door. "Don't think that my father will let you get away with this again. After all, why would he keep a useless little orphan boy around?"

The door clicked shut and the vibrations settled. "Because he doesn't have a choice." The shadows surrounded him, growing darker, closer. Harry shoved the blanket away from him. He pushed him palms flat against the wall and pushed down, lifting himself from the floor. He pulled his feet under him and stood, wincing. He pulled his pajamas off and tossed them toward his trunk. He slunk toward the door and rested his ear against it. Dudley and Vernon were snoring away. He inched the door open, peaking around the inch wide opening. The lights were out. He opened the door and squeezed through pulling it shut behind him. He rolled his eyes before slipping back in and grabbing his shoes sitting next to the door. He avoided the squeaky stair and sat on the floor by the front door. He pulled the shoes on and stared up at the full moon. Moony was in full form tonight. He twisted the lock slowly and opened the door inch by inch. Vernon's snores continued uninterrupted. He pulled the door closed as he scanned the street. All the houses were dark. Harry's footsteps echoed down the street. The streetlights sent shadows streaking from the circles of light they created. He squinted up at the street sign but the name was too blurred to make out. He wrapped his arms around his chest, turned left, and kept walking. He slipped through the gap in the fence and walked across the grass toward the swing that Dudley and his gang couldn't, or no longer wanted to, destroy. The cold wind blew across his neck and he jumped. He pulled the sweatshirt up higher and pulled his hands into it as far as he could while still holding onto the chains. He barely moved his legs, the swing rocking slowly back and forth. He leaned his head against the chain. A line of ants inched forward, carrying supplies toward the anthill by the downed tree branch by the fence. They worked so hard. They built their home, carried supplies immense distances to it, they worked so hard to survive, to help each other survive, and in the end they get squashed into a bloody swath on the ground by careless humans and animals that don't even recognize that they have just murdered someone who wanted nothing more in their life than to survive another day.

"Potter."

Harry smacked into the ground. The swing rocked violently and he ducked and scrambled back to avoid it. His pant leg scrunched up to his knee.

Black robes brushed his leg as long fingers clamped onto his arm. "Potter. What--"

Harry pulled, throwing his weight backwards and pushing against the hands, but the fingers just clamped onto his other arm. He couldn't move, he couldn't--those eyes staring at him. It was happening. He had to get away. "Not again. I can't-- Not again." He forced his arm up against the weight of the hands holding him and raked his fingers across Snape's cheek.

Snape let go, swearing, and clamped a hand to his face.

Harry bolted. He sprinted across the grass and vaulted over the branch. He slammed into the fence and pulled at the metal before he could find the gap and struggle through. The streetlights were too bright. Everything was too light. There were no shadows to hide in. Snape could follow him. He stood sucking in breaths as his eyes darted around. The alleyway was right there it had to be right there. He threw himself forward and slammed into the brick. He scrambled through the entrance and toppled over an overturned garbage can. He caught himself with his hand, a piece of glass slicing his palm as he pushed himself back to his feet and kept running. Number four had to be close. He couldn't stop the sobbing breaths that escaped. All the houses looked the same. He ran up to the door. Number two. No! He ran across the lawns, his sneakers throwing up dirt from flowerbeds. Number four! He pushed open the door and remembered just in time not to slam it. Death Eater couldn't get to the house. What if Snape were exempt from the wards? He wrenched the lock closed and jumped up the stairs as quickly and silently as he could. The bedroom door clicked shut behind him. He slid down the door and dropped his head to his knees. The sweat from his forehead soaked into his jeans. Death eaters can't hurt me here. He interlocked his fingers over the back of his neck. He's a death eater. He squeezed his eyes shut. He can't get me here. He wiped his cheek against his jeans. I'm ok.  
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Review and let me know if you see any problems. I would really like to know any thoughts you have. I have fiction 1 workshop in a few months and I really need to get used to hearing critisim again. Thanks.


	5. Plans

  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know.

Guys, there are so many inconsistencies in this story that it's not even funny. Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh well. More have been erased at this point. Tell me if you still find some in these rewritten chapters.

Another chapter rewritten and HUGELY EXTENDED. I've surprised even myself with this one. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin' ,so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

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Lupin slammed the door open and dropped into a seat at the kitchen table. His face was sallow and the bags made his eyes appear to be sunken into his skull.

Dumbledore rested his hands on the table. His blue and purple sleeves spread out from his arms. "That is everyone. What has happened Severus?"

The eyes of everyone in the room were locked on him. Severus turned toward the door and pulled his hood further forward, the fabric brushing his cheek. Nymphadora was tilting her chair back and forth, keeping it on the back two legs. She would be lying on the floor within minutes. He turned back to face the table. "The Dark Lord is somehow affecting Potter."

"What?!" Lupin's chair hit the ground. The table shook as he moved forward and knocked into it. His hands were shaking.

Severus rolled his eyes. Bloody werewolf couldn't control himself for a moment. "I was summoned. He instructed me to observe Potter and to find out if he seemed about to break."

Lupin rung his hands. "I knew something was wrong." He ran his hands through his hair and moved toward the door.

"Calm down Remus." Dumbledore laced his fingers together. "We shall send someone to observe him. Decide if Harry is--"

"He is not well." Severus raised his head higher. "I have already been there." Arthur Weasley shifted as he leaned back against the sink. Moody narrowed his eyes as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

Lupin dug his nails into the tabletop, dropping his head and sucking in air. He dropped back into the chair and the legs clattered against the stone floor.

Dumbledore rested a hand on Lupin's shoulder. "How was he?"

Severus gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. He brushed a smudge of dirt off the front of his robe. "He did not notice me approach him. He was in a park of some kind near his home staring at the ground. When I called his name he fell to the ground and barely evaded being smacked in the face with the swing on which he had been sitting." He turned and peered out the window. The windows of the muggle houses on the street were dark except for one of the upper window of the house across the way. A boy with a black string hanging from some muggle contraption over his ears spun around and jumped back and forth. "When I attempted to assist him to his feet he fought against me and ran, running into the fence that surrounded the park before heading toward his house. He was panicked. I followed at a distance to make sure he managed to make his way back to his home. When he entered the dwelling I left."

"And why shouldn't he panic?" Lupin jumped out of his seat as if it were molten lead. He spun from the table and paced in front of the stove. "Some strange man in black attacks him in the park, and after what happened last year with the dementors, why shouldn't he run? He knows there are people after him. He's being cautious." Lupin grabbed the chair, and shoved it toward the table, which vibrated as it connected. "I mean, Merlin, you just attacked him!"

Severus stalked forward three steps before he stopped himself and pushed his wand back into his sleeve and out of his palm. "I did not attack him and he knew very well who I was."

Lupin threw his arms in the air and growled. "How do you know that?"

Severus smirked and glared at him. Too bad the creature couldn't see his face. "He may not have been wearing his glasses but with the distance between us he could see me fine."

Lupin slammed his fists on the table. "You can't know that!"

The air was filling will the salty scent of anxiety. "His aim suggests that his vision was fine."

Lupin's shoulders dropped and a barely audible whine escaped him. "What?"

Severus yanked the hood back, the rough fabric scratching against his cheek and jarring the broken skin. The fabric pooled around his neck fully baring the four bloody fingernail scratches running the length of his cheek.

The hovering legs of Nymphadora's chair smacked into the stone and she fell into the table. Such a shame.

"Merlin!" Arthur Weasley stepped closer and started to raise his arm before checking himself and collapsing back against the counter. "Harry did that?"

Severus locked his eyes on Dumbledore. "Yes. I do not know what the Dark Lord is doing to that boy, but I doubt he can take much more of it." The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes dimmed. The wind rattled the window in its casement. Lupin's heavy breathing covered the silence of the room. Nymphadora's eyes were locked on his cheek, Arthur was shaking his head and mumbling silently to himself, and Moody's magical eye was spinning in its socket while the other squinted at him.

Lupin sunk back into his chair rubbing his hands over his face. "What do we do? If he's getting violent--I never thought he'd attack anyone--at least not one of his professors. What is that bastard doing to him?"

Dumbledore stood up slowly, his fingertips pressed against the tabletop. "I doubt that Voldemort expected us to remain unaware of this situation. He cannot touch Harry physically while he is with his relatives. If we remove him that barrier will be gone. That may be his intention."

Severus walked farther from the table and stared at the wall. Protecting bloody Potter. He had hit rock bottom. Ruining his own world for that impertinent brat. Severus suppressed the growl trying to escape. It wouldn't do anyone any good to allow the Dark Lord to get the results he desired. He closed his eyes before turning back to the table. "Unless we send Potter somewhere that the Dark Lord won't be able to find him."

"Where?" Arthur shook his head and blinked his eyes back into focus.

Severus took a deep breath. Trust Potter to screw up every single part of-- "The Academy."

Moody turned his wandering eye toward him. He shifted in his chair and pulled his coat closer around him. "I've never heard of it."

Hexing the man will not help. It would be enjoyable but then the Dark Lord would get what he wanted and that won't help anyone. "That is the point of the suggestion. Extremely few English wizards know that it exists and even those that do would be hard pressed to discover where to find it."

Moody stood and stalked toward him. "Then how do you know about it?" The magical eye rolled around in its socket.

He forced himself to remain still as Moody invaded his personal space. "I am aquatinted with the headmistress."

Arthur moved toward him and Moody took the hint and moved back to his place at the table. "It's a school?"

Severus nodded slightly and tensed his fingers. The air brushing against his cheek was causing the scrapes to itch. After this he would finally be able to heal them. He would no longer need the proof to explain his claim. "It is. The classes continue through the summer for those that wish to stay."

Lupin stood again and shuffled around the table toward him. "And they would just let Harry come?"

Severus glared and the wolf stopped moving forward. "Yes."

Lupin leaned against the wall and sniffed. No doubt trying to smell the boy on him to try and prove that he really hadn't seen the boy and was lying. "Why?"

He had to prove everything beyond a doubt. It was becoming tiring very quickly this night. He was going to leave the boy to suffer if this wasn't resolved in half an hour. "It is of no importance."

Lupin's mouth dropped open like a fish struggling to breath as it flopped around on the floor of a boat. "No importance? Who exactly is this woman?"

Dumbledore broke in. "He will be safe there. It was established after Voldemort was defeated. And as few wizards, if any, even know of the founder's existence Harry should be safe there." He locked eyes with each person in the room. "This would solve the problem of his safety. If he truly feels that he is not safe at Privet Drive this should provide him protection that he can see instead of him having to rely on magic that he cannot sense. When can you contact them?"

Severus nodded and pulled his robe tighter around him. A chill breeze flowed past the cracked window casement. "I will do it tonight."

Dumbledore nodded and clasped his hands in front of him, his sleeves falling forward to cover them. "If the answer is yes then Harry must be taken there directly before any more damage is done. When you receive the answer contact Remus. The two of you will collect Harry and take him there."

Severus clenched his teeth. "I can--"

"And considering Harry's reaction to you last night, having another wizard he trusts with you should make the process easier." The twinkle was back in his eyes.

Meddling fool. That creature does not need to know about--"I understand."

Dumbledore inclined his head and dropped his arms to his sides. "I suggest that we all return to our duties until Harry is safe or we need to find another course of action." The kitchen slowly cleared out, Nymphadora taking Lupin's arm and pulling him through the door. "Severus." He walked over as Dumbledore lowered himself back into his seat. "Do you have any theories of what is being done to him?"

Severus sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Potter has survived numerous encounters with evil incarnate. Whatever led him to this point must have been horrific."

Dumbledore sighed. "Do you believe removing him from his relatives care will do any good?"

He pulled out a chair and sat. "Part of the problem is no doubt his reaction to Black's death and his face to face encounter with the man cannot be helping him feel secure. The Academy can help him with both of those problems. If it is something more," he glanced out the window as the light went out in the muggle house, "If the order did not notice anything and he did not feel the need to reveal any problems he was having, perhaps people completely lacking in tact and subtlety will have better luck." He grabbed his forearm. "I must go."

Dumbledore patted his shoulder. "Of course. Be cautious."

"As always." Severus stood and moved to the door. Dumbledore's eyes were gazing out the window. There was nothing but darkness beyond the glass. He turned and left the house. He moved past the anti-apparation barriers surrounding the property and hurried to answer the summons, building up the barriers around his secrets.

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Review please. Criticism will be GREATLY appreciated at this point. 'I love this story' makes me feel all fuzzy inside and I'm happy to have it, but I'm really trying to improve this story.


	6. Breakdown

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Guys, there are so many inconsistencies in this story that it's not even funny. Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh well. More have been erased at this point. Tell me if you still find some in these rewritten chapters.

Another chapter rewritten and HUGELY EXTENDED. I've surprised even myself with this one. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin' ,so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

-----------

Severus' knee connected to the stone floor. He gritted his teeth to hold back a wince. The meeting places were always changing. He never stayed in one place long enough to be caught. He pressed his head against the cold rock. The dust swirled around his face and flew into his eyes. "My Lord."

Fabric brushed against itself, the faint sound almost overshadowed by the dripping of water onto the floor in the far corner behind the Dark Lord. "What of the boy?"

He is acting like a lunatic, but that is no different from usual. Severus shifted to take his weight off his throbbing knee. "He is--skittish, my Lord. He jumped at every sound."

The chair groaned as the joints were forced to twist from their normal positions. His boots clicked on the stone. "Yes. You have done well Severus." A hand brushed the hair off his neck. "He will no doubt do something foolish, leaving him wide open for me." The chilled fingers trailed down his skin. Goosebumps rose over his entire body. The fingers lifted and he retreated. "Go now. I have things to prepare."

"Yes my Lord." He pushed himself to his feet, keeping his eyes on the ground. He turned and left the house. His skin tingled as he passes the anti apparation barriers and he disappeared.

Lupin tugged at the collar of his muggle shirt. He was completely dressed in brown and looked like a scraggly beast that should be put out of its misery. "How do we do this?"

Severus rolled his eyes. These people were muggles. They'd believe anything we told them. "I suppose we walk up to the door and tell the muggles we're taking him."

Lupin scanned the street. "What if he doesn't want to go?"

Oh yes. What if the boy doesn't want to leave the disgustingly happy little neighborhood where every house looks exactly the same? Four people down the street were washing their nearly identical automobiles. Severus held back a shudder. So this is what hell is. "Then we knock him unconscious and take him anyway."

Lupin grabbed his arm and yanked him a step farther from the house. "What?! You can't--"

"Be silent. He must be removed for his own safety. I will not let his stubbornness stand in my way." He shook off Lupin's arm and glared at him. "And after all, isn't that why you are here? To convince him?" The air was saturated with the sharp scent of recently cut grass and the mulch these creatures covered their gardens with. "Let us do this already." We stand in the middle of the street staring at this house while the wolf decides to do exactly what we have planned to do. Any longer and someone will notice and wonder why we are here. It will be suspicious enough when the boy disappears for the rest of the summer.

Lupin clenched and unclenched his fists. He ran his hands through his hair and glanced around the street again. "All right. Let's go."

Finally. Severus walked up the path to the front door. How are you supposed to look intimidating when you are wearing these ridiculous clothes? He knocked on the door and moved to the side as Lupin moved closer behind him.

The door swung open. "Yes?" An enormous man stood holding the door. "How can I help you?"

Lupin's face would have been comical if it wasn't hurting their cause. It is not wise to look disgusted when you are about to ask for something. Severus moved to block Lupin from the man's view. He kept his face blank. "We're here about Potter."

The smile dropped from the man's face and his moustache started twitching as he looked over the two men standing at his door. Severus let his wand slip into his hand far enough for the man to see. The color drained from his face and his eyes darted up and down the street. He hustled them inside, peering around the edge of the door before shutting it. "We didn't lock him in his room. He locked himself in. He refused to eat. It was his choice. We couldn't stop him. Whatever he's been telling you--"

Lupin pushed his way ahead. "He locked himself in his room? How long has he been in there?"

The man scuttled back, nearly tripping over the coffee table and falling onto the couch. He scrambled back onto his feet. "Two days. Dudley found him crammed in the corner. I don't know what he's been telling you but we--"

Lupin spun and glared at Severus. "You said--"

He grabbed Lupin's arm and hauled him backward. "Can we see him?"

The man pulled up his belt. "He's not going anywhere." He walked down the hall and through a door into the kitchen. "Useless freak that boy. Always has been." The door swung shut. Severus kept his grip on Lupin who kept throwing his body weight forward trying to go after the idiot. "Lupin! We're here to get Potter, remember? Killing his relatives is not going to accomplish that any quicker."

Lupin sagged and Severus released him. They walked up the stairs. Everything was covered in carpet and the walls were covered in pictures of a boy nearly as fat as the man who was no doubt currently stuffing his face in the kitchen. Lupin walked directly to one of the doors and knocked. "Harry? Are you in there?"

"Go away." The voice, muffled by the door, shook.

Lupin glanced back and moved closer to the door, pressing his ear against it. "I can't Harry. I need to talk to you."

Nothing moved. The tub of lard was muttering about something in the kitchen. "No."

Severus rolled his eyes. If they didn't need the boy alive-- "Enough of this." He pushed Lupin to the side and twisted the doorknob.

Lupin moved him away from the door and slipped in front of him. He turned the knob and pushed it open. It bounced off something and clicked shut again. Lupin scrunched up his eyes. "There must be something in the way."

He rolled his eyes and shoved Lupin to the side. He opened the door slowly, pushing against the obstruction.

"Go away!"

Useless little-- "Potter--" The room plunged into darkness with the sound of shattering glass.

Lupin shoved him aside and pushed into the room. "Lumos." Books, quills, papers, and clothes littered the floor. The lamp, broken into a dozen pieces, lay on the floor next to the desk the cord still plugged into the wall. "Harry?" Lupin moved across the room weaving around the obstructions. His wand light washed over Harry, curled up and hugging his knees, under the desk. "Harry?"

"Not here not here not here can't hurt me can't hurt me." His face was pressed into his pants his eyes squeezed shut.

Lupin reached the desk and knelt. He stretched out his hand and rested it on Harry's knee.

He jumped and pressed himself closer to the wall. "Not real not real not real can't hurt me."

"Merlin." Severus moved behind Lupin and stared down at the shivering boy. "What's wrong with him?"

Harry pushed himself flush against the wall and banged his head against the side of the desk again and again. "Not here not real can't hurt me."

The light shook. Severus pulled out his wand. "Lumos." He scanned the room. His trunk was turned on its side and the entire contents had been scattered over every surface left standing in the room. "I saw him two days ago. He wasn't--We have to get him out of here now. You try and get him out from under the desk and I'll gather his things."

Lupin babbled soothing words that had no effect while he magicked everything back into the trunk. The boy had stopped whacking his head against the wood but he still flinched every time Lupin tried to touch him. "We don't have time for this." Severus walked over, pulled Lupin out of the opening, grabbed the boy's arm, and pulled him out.

Potter started shaking violently. "No no no no no no. Not here not real can't hurt me." He squeezed his eyes shut, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Lupin grabbed Potter from him and framed his face with his hands. "Harry? Harry, it's Remus. Everything's okay. Open your eyes. Please."

Potter started hiccupping and pulling in air. "Lupin?"

Lupin brushed the tears from his cheeks. "Yes, it's me. You're okay. You're safe."

He shook his head, his rat's nest hair flying everywhere. "Never safe. Never clean. Can't make it stop."

Lupin pulled him closer and rested Potter's head on his chest. "Can't make what stop? Harry, what's wrong?"

Potter pressed closer to him. "Can't leave. Can't sleep. Have to stay awake. Have to stay safe. Can't get me if I'm here."

Lupin grimaced at Severus. "Harry, We--I'm here to take you somewhere safe."

Harry opened his eyes and pulled back. "Safe here. Anywhere else he can find me, can get me, have to stay here."

Lupin tilted Potter's head up. "Harry, when's the last time you slept?"

Harry pulled away and wrapped his arms around his chest. "Can't sleep. He'll get me there."

Lupin moved toward him and Potter sprung back and threw his arms out. Lupin held up his hands in surrender and took two steps back, glass crunching under his feet. "Who will get you?"

Potter closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around himself again. "Snape. He lied. He's with them. Can't stop him." His breathing sped up. "Can't get away. Can't stop him. Can't make him stop."

Lupin moved forward and turned Potter's face back to him. "Can't make him stop what Harry?"

Potter's knees collapsed and he fell to the floor and curled up, wrapping his arms around his knees babbling to himself.

Lupin turned slowly. His mouth opened and closed a few times as he looked down at the shivering boy. "It's in his head. How do we get him away from his own mind?"

Severus clenched his fist around his wand. "I don't know. I don't--We have to follow the plan. We can't leave him here. They can't help him, and from what we've seen I doubt they care enough to try."

Lupin stared out the window. "But this plan of yours no longer fixes the problem. It won't make him any safer. It won't let him sleep."

The Dark Lord wanted him broken. What if he succeeded? "Maybe they know some way to help him that we do not. Maybe they have a way to shield his mind until he can do it himself." He forced his fingers to relax before he snapped his own wand in half. "Not that it is likely that he will ever learn if his past performance is any indication." He glanced around to see if anything was left lying around that he'd missed. "The Academy is entirely different from everything you've ever been exposed to. Maybe they are different enough to be able to help him."

Lupin stared at Harry who had stopped babbling and was rocking back and forth staring at a broken piece of glass next to his foot. "We don't have very many options do we?"

"No."

Lupin sighed. "He at least won't be able to find Harry there?"

Severus shrugged. "Nothing is guaranteed, but I think he will be safe."

Lupin nodded and moved forward. "Then let's go."


	7. And now the chapter is slightly longer

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Guys, there are so many inconsistencies in this story that it's not even funny. Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh well. More have been erased at this point. Tell me if you still find some in these rewritten chapters.

Another chapter rewritten and extended. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

-----

Severus walked to the center of the room away from the glass shards and pulled a black velvet jewelry box out of his pocket.

Lupin's wand went dark. He pointed it at the trunk, shrunk it down, and slipped it into his pocket. He picked up the owl cage that had remained intact hidden in the corner and walked back to Potter. He knelt and tipped his head up. "Harry. We're going to take you somewhere where you'll be safe. They--they may be able to make the dreams stop."

Potter's eyes snapped in and out of focus. He wrapped his hands around Lupin's arm and pulled him closer. "They can make it stop? They can keep me safe from him?"

Lupin's eyes closed before he forced them back open. He pushed Potter's hair out of his eyes. His scar was red and crisscrossed with red lines. He'd tried to scratch it off. "I don't know what's wrong. I can't know for sure, but they may know--"

"Let's go." Potter jumped up. He spun around three times and dropped back to the floor. He crawled over to the bed and started pulling at floorboards.

"What is he--" Severus froze as one of the boards came free of the floor. Potter pulled out his wand, the damn invisibility cloak, and a brown book. Lupin took the trunk out of his pocket and enlarged it. Potter skipped over and opened it, throwing the retrieved items on top. He spun around a few more times and dove under the bed. He squirmed back out with his shoes dangling from one hand.

Lupin barely moved as he watched the boy hop onto the bed and try to pull his shoes on without untying them. "Don't--Don't you even want to know where you're--"

Potter pulled the second shoe on and shook his head. "I have to make it stop. Can't do it again. Have to make him stop." He dropped back to the floor and crawled over to the dresser. He stuck his arm under the small gap between the bottom of the dresser and the floor, pulled out his glasses, and slipped them on. He squinted toward the light. "Who's that?"

Lupin whipped around, grimacing, and then slowly turned back to Potter. Come on. Tell the boy the truth. Let's see if he remembers whom he saw a few minutes ago. "That's a--a--a new member of the order. Uh--S--Steven." Steven? Merlin, that's not even creative. Idiots. Both of them.

Potter squinted again and tilted his head to the side. "Oh. Hi."

Severus nodded. The boy must be having some kind of short-term memory loss and obviously he's having mood swings. What else? The destruction of the room. What brought him to that point? Is he hallucinating? So many different things could have caused the obvious symptoms. Perhaps Biara will be able to discover more.

Lupin coughed. "We should--uh--get going."

Severus opened the box, the hinge groaning and protesting against the movement, and pulled out a large silver locket. The headmaster's idea of a joke. At least the blasted lion didn't actually roar.

Lupin handed the owl cage to Potter and moved in closer. "Nice concealment charm."

Idiot. The boy would have never left if he knew that I was involved. Severus held out the locket and everyone touched it. "Nice name." The three figures disappeared from the barren room, the glass shards settling from the air displacement.

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Leave feedback so I know if my writing is getting any better. Crosses fingers in hopes of reviews in her inbox.


	8. At the Academy

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Guys, there are so many inconsistencies in this story that it's not even funny. Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh well. More have been erased at this point. Tell me if you still find some in these rewritten chapters.

Another chapter rewritten and extended. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

----------

The well-lit, tiled hallway was empty. "No!" Potter pulled away, smacking away Lupin's hands as the man tried to grab him, and slammed against the wall.

"Harry what are you doing?" Lupin moved to grab him again.

Potter's eyes darted around the hallway. He pushed himself into the window alcove and squished into the corner. "You're with him! You're helping him! Never safe. Never free."

Lupin shook his head and turned to face him. "What--Severus! The charm's gone."

"What?" His hands had returned to their sallow whiteness.

The boy was mumbling. His head shot up and he locked eyes with him. "You can't have me!" He took off down the hallway.

Severus pulled out his wand. "Imobulus."

Potter's feet froze mid run and he fell forward onto his face.

"Harry!" Lupin scurried over to where he fell and dropped to the floor. He turned Potter over and laid his head in his lap, brushing the hair off his face apparently checking for injuries. Who cares? It was the boy's own fault. He was the one that decided to run. He slipped the wand back into his sleeve.

Strong fingers pinched his ear and yanked him sideways. "Severus Snape! How dare you freeze that boy. Reverse that spell now."

Severus pushed against her arm. "Biara get off. The boy was running off, I--"

Biara shook her arm wrenching his ear. "I do not care. And why exactly was he running? What did you do?" Her black eyes locked on his.

He pushed her arm off and moved back. "Why do you always think it's something I did?"

She planted her fists on her hips. And shook her black hair to the side. "Because it always is. Now reverse that spell."

He pulled his wand back out of his sleeve. "Reverso."

Potter relaxed in Lupin's grasp, pulling in deep breaths, and sprang away from him, slamming against the wall. His eyes locked on Biara. You could almost see the gears in his head turning as he assessed the new threat.

Biara let her arms drop to her side. "Thank you. Now what did you do? Some kind of spell I suppose. It always is with you. What was it?"

Severus crossed his arms over his chest and mumbled the answer as quietly and indistinguishably as he could.

Biara snorted and threw her arms in the air. "Concealment charm? Well no wonder. They won't work here. None of the spells, charms, potions, or anything else that hides who you are from others will work within the boundaries of the school. It's one of the protections here. The students, not to mention the rest of us, deserve to know whom they're associating with." Potter moved back into the corner of the window alcove, arms wrapped around him. Biara walked over to him. She stopped before entering the alcove. "Inconsiderate, stupid men." She smiled and let her arms hang non-threateningly from her sides. "Hello. I'm the headmistress here. My name is Biara Richardson. And your name is?"

Potter shifted from foot to foot and chewed on his lip. "Ha--Harry."

Biara nodded slightly. "Well it's nice to meet you Harry. I believe these foolish men behind me wish you to stay here with us for a while. Is that what you want?"

He looked around and stared at the tiled floor. "I--I don't--I don't know where I am."

Biara glared at him over her shoulder. "They didn't tell you?"

He shook his head and sniffed. "No."

She sighed. "Well. This is the Academy. It's a school for magically inclined persons like yourself who still want to live their normal lives. Muggle lives with magic if you will. You can look outside for yourself if you'd like. The little ones are out playing."

Potter shifted and turned slowly, keeping one eye on Biara. "They look happy."

Biara moved a few steps closer, stopping when Potter began to tense up. "Indeed they do."

Potter rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "Aren't they too young to do magic?"

Biara leaned against the wall. "Most of them have brothers, sisters, or parents who attend or teach here. So in the summer they come to play and maybe learn something. Though most of what they learn is theory. What is possible as opposed to learning how to do it."

He nodded and started chewing on his thumbnail. "Oh. That's nice. They learn something about magic before dumping them into it headfirst and expecting them to adjust."

Biara rested her hand on his shoulder. "That's the idea. In the summer it's very relaxed. Those who elect to stay can go to as many or as few classes as they wish. They can get help in a subject they were struggling with or they can spend time with their friends."

Potter squirmed under her fingers and then tensed his muscles. "That sounds nice."

Biara removed her hand and glanced back at them before focusing once again on Potter. "Do you know why they want you to be here?"

His fingers were white as they gripped his arms. "Yes. But they don't. Not really."

She looked back at them watching their reactions to his words. She's testing us. Trying to figure out if this is my idea of just getting the boy out of the way. She wants to know if I lied to her about what's going on. How very Slytherin of her. "They don't really want you to be here?"

Potter looked over and took a step toward her before looking back out the window. "No. They don't know what's wrong. And they won't. They can't make me." He started shaking.

Biara rubbed his arms and the tremors subsided. "That's all right. No one will make you do anything you don't want to do." She squeezed his arm before releasing him. "Would you like to stay here with us or go back to wherever you were?"

He took a deep breath and turned around looking straight at her. "I--I think I'd like to stay here. If I can."

"Of course you can." She turned back to them. She smoothed her hair back and pulled a band around it. "You have his things?"

Lupin pulled the trunk out of his pocket. "Here."

Biara sighed and gestured at him. "Enlarge it please. And I assume this rather ruffled and confused looking owl is yours Harry?"

Potter crouched next to the cage. "Are you all right Hedwig?" She hooted. He reached his finger through the bars and scratched her head.

Biara smiled and smoothed his hair. "Well we don't have many owls here as telephones are more convenient. We just a few in the barn for the occasional owl post. So you can put him in the barn or keep him in your room with you."

Potter pulled his fingers out of the cage. "I think she'd be happier in the barn."

She helped Potter to his feet. "Well then, we'll take her out and get her settled. Ah, Kevin and Marcus. How wonderful for you to volunteer to take Harry's things to his room."

The two boys that had stepped out of one of the classrooms laughed. One tucked strands of his brown hair behind his ears. "That was quite nice of us."

The redhead nodded and clapped the other boy on the shoulder. "Definitely. I think we'll have to reward ourselves later for being such wonderful people."

They walked up to either side of the trunk and each grabbed a handle. "Where are we taking it?"

"You don't have to." Potter stared at the floor, twisting his fingers in the hem of his shirt.

The redhead winked and smiled. "Don't worry buddy. That's where we were headed anyway. So which dorm, Mom?"

Biara smiled and pointed toward the doors a few classrooms down. "West wing, top floor, room sixteen. I do hope you can find it."

The brunette scratched his head and scrunched his nose. "I don't know. We've only lived there for three--"

"Four."

"Four years. We may need a sherpa." He shook his head sadly and the redhead nodded in agreement.

Biara scoffed and shooed them with her hands. "If you boys don't hurry you'll be late for lunch."

The brunette grimaced. "Ouch. Mom, you wound us. Have we ever been late for a meal?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the side. "Then go on."

The redhead saluted with his free hand and the boys turned and started marching down the hall. "Yes ma'am. Anything you say. You are the boss lady, the head honcho--"

"The big cheese." Their words faded as they went through a set of double doors to the stairs.

Severus cleared his throat and pressed his lips tight. "Mom?"

Biara walked over and smacked his arm. "Don't tease Severus, it's against your nature. Morganna refused to refer to me as Professor Richardson and mom just caught on. And stop smirking at me. I may be up there in years, but I have no doubt that I can still beat you in a fight. Now off you go."

Lupin spun toward her, jerking out of his stupor at the events going on around him. "But--"

"No buts. You were to bring him here. You have. Now it's my job to watch over him." She placed a hand on Lupin's arm as he opened his mouth again. "He will be safe here." She patted his hand. "Beyond whatever is wrong with him right at the moment he needs people who know nothing about him. No presuppositions. No one knows anything about Harry Potter here, and they only have the vague notion of Voldemort. Trust me."

Lupin clenched and unclenched his fists then bowed his head. "I understand."

Severus pulled a second box out of his pocket. "Let us go."

Biara chewed on her lip. "Severus?"

He flicked the box open and closed. "Yes?"

She sighed and made her way back over to him. She rested her hand against his chest. "Maybe someday you might come and stay long enough to actually talk to them."

He glanced at Lupin who appeared to be straining to listen in. "You know that it is--"

"She's six now. And sixteen in a few weeks." Biara twisted her fingers in the fabric of his shirt.

He coughed and loosened her fingers. "A few weeks?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Yes." She kissed his cheek. "And we have a lot to catch up on. It's been forever Severus."

He smoothed the wrinkles out of his shirt. "I--I am aware of that. I will try and work something out. But I will not put you in more danger than your existence already creates. You've worked too hard to escape to ruin it for a few hours."

She smiled and squeezed his arm. "I would take the few hours. But you will do what you think is best as always. I'm sure I will be in touch about the boy."

He nodded and snapped the box open. He pulled out the ring. "Until then."

She stepped back and Lupin moved to join him. "Goodbye Severus. Be cautious."

"As always." Severus and Lupin touched the ring and vanished as he spoke the password.

--------------

Leave feedback so I know if my writing is getting any better. Crosses fingers in hopes of reviews in her inbox.


	9. Journal

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Guys, there are so many inconsistencies in this story that it's not even funny. Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh well. More have been erased at this point. Tell me if you still find some in these rewritten chapters.

Another chapter rewritten and extended. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

----------

Harry curled up on his bed. The sheets were white with windows on them, showing different nature scenes beyond the glass panes. They didn't move. The landscapes and portraits on the walls didn't move. The room was square with the three beds in the corners and the door in the last corner. Clothes and books were strewn across the floor. Watercolors and pictures drawn with stick people were taped on all the walls around the framed pictures. The closet door hung open with sports equipment spilling out onto the floor. Every so often a basketball or baseball would fall free of the pile and roll across the room. He pulled the journal out of the nightstand and opened it to the page he'd stuck the pen in. The book was black leather and the lines on the pages were gold. They sparkled when you tilted the book in the light. He uncapped the pen tested it on the page. A real pen. Not a quill. He smiled as he started writing. He'd missed pens and pencils. They were so much simpler and less messy than quills.

The room is nice. It's big and has a lot of windows. It is so much lighter than Hogwarts. There are no curtains around the bed, and it makes it friendlier. My roommates are Kevin and Kyle. They're like Fred and George, only not family. They both have brown hair and blue eyes. Kevin is one of the boys that brought my trunk to my room. They keep trying to cheer me up. It's a nice thought on their part. They showed me around and explained how things are done. I watched a class on wandless magic. There were eleven people in it. It's the same people that always seem to be around. Apparently they are the only ones in the school currently capable of wandless magic. They keep mentioning the twelve. I don't know what it is yet. I don't know what I'm supposed to write. Mrs. Richardson gave me this journal. She said she understood that I don't want to tell anyone what's wrong, but she said if I couldn't tell anyone else I should at least be able to tell myself. I don't know if I can even do that.

Kyle burst through the door and cringed when he jumped. "Sorry." He tiptoed across the room, picking up his feet as far as he could off the ground and leaping across piles of stuff. He turned, stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes, before diving under his bed. He emerged with his books and stray pieces of plastic toys that they were building some giant contraption in the corner with. He placed the plastic pieces carefully in his bedside drawer and hopped back across the room. "Ta!" He slammed the door. Harry shook his head and turned back to the journal.

I think she's getting worried. I don't really blame her I guess. I haven't said anything to her since Snape and Lupin left. What is there to say? It's real, it's a premonition, or Voldemort's being a sadistic bastard and screwing with my head. I don't know which one. I've said a few things to the twelve, but it's nothing important. Just direct answers to simple questions. Lupin was scared. I saw it in his eyes. He doesn't think I'll get better. Or maybe he blames me. He thinks I killed Sirius. He thinks I'm crazy, unstable, that I killed him. He thinks it's my fault. Mrs. Richardson told me she wouldn't force me to talk about what's wrong. She said she'd let me work it out on my own, but how am I supposed to do that when thinking about it makes me sick?

He pulled off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. He laid next to the journal so he could see what he was writing.

I sound crazy, paranoid. There's something wrong with me. I attacked Snape. I'm dead when I go back to school. If they let me go back. Maybe they think I'm dangerous. And are they wrong? Maybe I don't want to go back. I liked it there when I was safe. But was I ever safe? I got attacked my first year, second year, third--every year. I was never safe there. I just couldn't see it.

I haven't eaten much since I've been here. I'm not hungry. I don't think I've slept much. I can't make myself close my eyes. Every time I fall asleep from exhaustion he's there. Mr. Weasley really was attacked. It happened. But Voldemort didn't have Sirius. He put it in my mind. What about these dreams? Are they actually happening? Did I get a sudden explosion of divination powers? Or is Voldemort doing this to me? He wants me dead. I ruined his plans again. The ministry knows he's back. I'm in a strange place where I don't know anyone. I don't know whom to trust. He can get to me here.

Snape wasn't after the Sorcerer's Stone. He wasn't trying to kill me. But he hates me for what my father did to him. Can I blame him? I saw it. My father was a horrible person. My mother hated him. Everyone says that I'm like him. Do I act like that too? Like I'm better than everyone? That I can do whatever I want? If I do, don't I deserve to be hated? How far would he go? How much does he really hate me? Enough to--?

She's going to give up on me, send me back to the Dursley's. I know it. It's what they all do. They don't have to bother thinking about me if they shove me out of the way somewhere.

They won't let me come back to Hogwarts. I'm too dangerous. I'm out of my mind. Where am I supposed to go? I don't have anyone left.

Harry shut the journal and curled around it. The painting on the wall across from his bed was made up of swirls of color. Blurry, all the colors meshed together and seemed to shift faster the longer you stared at it.

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	10. Cali

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Guys, there are so many inconsistencies in this story that it's not even funny. Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh well. More have been erased at this point. Tell me if you still find some in these rewritten chapters.

Another chapter rewritten and extended. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

----------

"Harry, right?" She leaned against the doorframe. Her jeans were skin tight, stopping three inches below the bottom of her glowing pink shirt, black mesh sleeves revealing ivory white skin. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, stray pieces falling over her face. "Right. Not a big talker. That's ok with me. Since most people complain I talk too much anyway I suppose it doesn't matter. Have you read House of Spirits? It's by Isabel Allende. You should. It's an amazing book. Clara doesn't talk for like seven or eight years or something. She dreamed that her sister Rosa died. She told the family about her dream. Then when Rosa died she thought it was her fault. That she didn't just see it happen, but made it happen because--well I really don't know why. Anyway she stopped talking. She did talk again though, suddenly, as if she'd never stopped. I think she finally realized that she wasn't to blame for what she saw in her head. It's a good book. A little violent, I can see why it's been banned, but it has a lot of moral aspects to it. I'm still talking, aren't I? It's a little disconcerting not to have someone talking back, not that I mind, but especially someone I've never actually been introduced to. I don't even know your last name. I only know your first name because I was eavesdropping on my mom's conversation and I know everyone else at this school. I don't think I'll ever get used to her talking to someone in a fireplace, or sending letters by owl. What's so wrong about using the phone and the post office? And I'm still talking. Ok. Stopping now." She dropped onto the couch next to him. "If I knew you I'd probably say 'I'm bored, entertain me' but since I don't know you I think I'll just sit here." She shifted back into the corner of the couch and pulled her knees to her chest. She brushed the stray hairs behind her ears. "They want to take you somewhere else. I thought you had the right to know. I wouldn't want someone talking about me and not know about it. Mom's worried about you. She's so used to dealing with my problems, and I solve everything by talking it out. She's terrified that she's not going to be able to help. That she'll only make things worse."

Harry locked his eyes on the journal in his lap. "They can't get worse."

She shifted and squirmed until she was sitting on her feet. "No?"

He tightened his fingers around the corners of the journal. The corners digging into his palms grounded him. "No."

She tilted her head to the side and flicked her tongue back and forth over her top front teeth. "Do you have friends? People you care about?"

He forced his eyes away from her tongue. "Y-Yes."

She shrugged and slid to the side off of her feet. "Then it can get worse. It can always get worse."

He snorted and pulled the pen out of the journal pages. "That's inspiring."

She patted his knee. "No. But it's true. The inspiring part, the best part of the world, is that even though things can get worse, sometimes they don't."

The fabric around the button on the couch was frayed. The yellow stuffing poked out between the worn fibers. "My parents are dead. I don't even remember them."

She drummed her fingers on the back of the couch. "Ok."

Her eyes were locked on a strand of her bangs that she pulled over her nose. She twisted it around her finger then pulled it toward her chin as if measuring it. "There's an evil wizard who's main goal in his newly reinstated life seems to be to make my life miserable before he kills me and thereby fulfills the prophecy."

She released the hair and flung it back onto the top of her head. The strands slowly slipped down to frame her face. "Ok."

Harry flung his journal onto the coffee table. It slid across the polished surface, pushing magazines to the floor. "The prophecy that he doesn't even know. A bloody prophecy that got my Godfather killed."

She covered a yawn with her hand. "Ok."

He sprang from the chair and spun to face her. "I killed him! It was my fault! I didn't listen. I didn't block it out. I didn't even try. I wanted the dreams to come. I wanted to know what was behind the door. I killed him. He's dead because I thought I was always right and no one else could ever possibly understand. I'm no better than him. He should have killed me. Everything would be better, easier--"

She stood and flailed her arms in front of her face. "Stop. No. Where would you being dead get anyone? Would there be world peace? An end to all suffering in the universe? We're human. We do stupid things that have huge consequences. Things we can never take back. But that's why we're here. You live another day and never do anything that stupid again."

The lace drapes forced the sunlight through the holes. The patterns moved over the floor as the sun rose higher. "I killed him. He loved me and I killed him."

She flopped back onto the couch and propped her feet on the edge of the coffee table. "Would he want you to be dead too?"

He grabbed the journal from her curling toes painted bright blue. "No. But he shouldn't have died. He died to save me."

She scooted to the edge of the couch. She put her hands on her knees and pulled herself up. "I can't tell you that everything's going to be ok, and it wasn't your fault, and dying to save the ones you love is the perfect sacrifice because half of it's crap and the other half hinges on me knowing what happened. But here's the great life lesson from the mouth of my little sister. Life Sucks. Things never go the way you hope and you're always disappointed and disgruntled about what you don't have."

He sniffed. The bookcases on the far wall were barely organized. Books were lying in piles on the shelves, some sections appeared to be organized by color, and there were a bunch of books lying in piles on the floor. "It gets worse."

She sighed. The coffee table groaned as it scraped across the stained wood floor. "Usually does."

Maybe he'd organize the books. He could earn his keep. Maybe they'd let him stay if he started doing work. "It makes me sick just thinking about it."

She rested her chin on this shoulder. "Then we'll be sick together."

He jumped and stepped away. The floorboards didn't even creak. "I don't even know who you are."

She smiled and curtsied. "My mom's the headmistress. I'm Cali."

He raised his eyebrows. "Cali?"

She shrugged. "Short for Morganna Caliope Richardson."

Okay. I don't get it. Must respond though. Normal people respond to comments other people make to them. "Yikes."

She giggled. "Exactly. So don't call me Morganna or anything. That's just a Mom thing."

Her green eyes were locked on him. That is not a natural color. They're almost glowing. What does she want? Oh. She introduced herself. I guess it's my turn. "I'm Harry."

She held out her hand. She smiled, reached out and grabbed his hand from where it rested at his side, and shook it. "It's nice to meet you."

He pulled away and moved toward the door. "Harry Potter."

She tilted her head to the side and shrugged. "Better name then mine. Shorter at least."

Harry chewed on his lip. "You haven't heard of me?"

Cali shook her head. "Should I have?"

Harry hugged the notebook to his chest and smiled.

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	11. I want to stay

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Guys, there are so many inconsistencies in this story that it's not even funny. Why didn't anyone tell me? Oh well. More have been erased at this point. Tell me if you still find some in these rewritten chapters.

Another chapter rewritten and extended. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

----------

Mrs. Richardson sat next to Harry on the couch. "Good morning Harry. I'm afraid we need to talk--well I need to talk at any rate."       The sun was bright, breaking through the gaps in the blue curtains enclosing the bay window, the fabric glowing like sapphires in the light. "Harry. Severus brought you here to help you, but I don't feel like I am. I am at a loss of what to do." She stared at her fingers clasped in her lap. "The last thing I ever wanted was to send you away, but you need to be somewhere with people who can help you. I don't think I can. Severus and Remus will be coming to get you in a few days."

            "No." He couldn't stop his voice from shaking.

            Mrs. Richardson jumped.

            "Please. I--I want to stay."

            She opened and closed her mouth before covering it with her hand. "You're talking!"

            Harry shrugged and moved back into the couch. "Yes. I do that sometimes. Not lately granted, but I can. Everything was too much. It was all--all--mushed up in my head."

            "Mushed?" Mrs. Richardson sighed and leaned back against the couch. "You've met my daughter I gather?"

            Harry chewed on his lip and watched her out of the corner of his eye. She had her lips pressed together so hard then were turning white. "Ye--Yes."

            She covered her mouth again and laughed. "That little vixen. I will never figure that child out. She always knows what to say when." She sighed and shook her head. "Bloody witches."

            Harry looked over frowning. "Aren't you a witch?"

            She stood up and brushed invisible dust off her gray pants. "Decidedly not. I'm a squib."

            Harry tilted his head to the side. "You don't have any magic?"

            She crossed her arms over her chest. "No. That is the definition of a squib after all."

            Harry took a deep breath to comment, froze, and let it out. He leaned forward. "But you run a magic school?"

            Mrs. Richardson rolled her eyes and shrugged, a smile spread across her face. "Mind boggling isn't it?"

            Harry picked at his cuticles. They were growing out along his nail. They'd probably start peeling and bleeding soon. "Yes."

            Mrs. Richardson picked up a stack of books off the floor and set them on the nearest table. "You would think that in a lounge full of tables they wouldn't leave their things on the floor." She dusted off her hands and turned back toward the couch. "Are you hungry?"

            Harry squinted. Starving myself doesn't seem to have stopped the dreams. Might as well try something else. "I think I am."

            Mrs. Richardson smiled. She took his arms and pulled him to his feet. "Then let's go introduce you to American food."

            The journal dropped from his lap, bounced on the wood floor, and flopped open. His mouth hung open. "I'm in _America_?"

            Mrs. Richardson picked the journal off the floor and snapped it shut. "Yes. And you have been for a few days now."

            He couldn't stop blinking. He'd left the country. Did the last war with Voldemort even reach America? "Bloody hell."

            Mrs. Richardson held the journal toward him. "No that's England. And I would tell you to watch your language if I didn't suspect that my daughter's presence would make that a ridiculous request."

            Harry shook his head and forced his fingers to close around the journal. "Where in America?"

            Mrs. Richardson rubbed her forehead. "I am going to tell you this under the condition that you understand that the only English wizards that have the knowledge of our location are my brother and your headmaster. For those who know of the existence of this school the information pertaining to our location could be very sought after. You cannot tell any of your friends or even your teachers."

            "But isn't it mentioned in any books? My friend Hermione knew about the other magical schools in Europe and at least roughly where they were." He pulled himself to sit on the most stable table in the room.

            Mrs. Richardson moved to stand across from him. "That is true of those institutions that all function under the same set of principals. Those schools sequester their students from society and they learn only what they need to know to survive in wizarding society. Muggleborns and Squibs have no chance to become part of the other world that is open to them."

            Harry pulled his legs up onto the table and dropped the journal in his lap. "You said that this school was for people that still wanted to live muggle lives."

            "Exactly. The surrounding area, as we are in the center of a moderate sized city, believes that we are a private school for gifted children. They aren't exactly wrong so the situation works out well for everyone. The students are allowed to come and go as they please because they all know how to blend in and work alongside their muggle counterparts. Any wizardborn students that choose to come here are partnered with someone to help learn all they need to know. They get a crash course in survival skills. They fair quite well and often help their friends unravel the strange practices and ideals of wizarding society. Of course both of these worlds would be different from the one you know as American wizarding society is a bit different from the English one just as the two muggle societies are different."

            Harry attacked the itch at the back of his head. Mrs. Richardson was trying to keep from laughing so he dropped his hand back into his lap. "So what you're trying to impart is that the students are vulnerable because they can leave the school and no one keeps strict track of them and there are no muggle repelling or concealing charms on the school so the only thing that stops people from finding you is that they don't know you exist or they're stupid?"

            She nodded. "Essentially."

            Harry nodded. "Okay. I promise to keep my mouth shut. Where are we?"

            She smiled. "New York. I don't think any more specific names would help you."

            Harry slid off the table and hugged his journal loosely to his chest. "I don't think I have any idea where that is." He shook his head. "Can we go eat?"

            She laughed and draped her arm over his shoulders, pulling him forward. "Of course. We'll go through the long explanations of geography and such later."

            She released his shoulders as they moved into the hallway. "Oh dear." She pulled him into the nearest window alcove. He peeked around the corner and then jumped back to avoid the stream of water.

            "Sorry!" Kevin ran by holding a water gun. He bolted down the hall and grabbed the corner, spinning into the next hallway. Giggling and screaming filled the air.

            Mrs. Richardson sighed and walked across the hall to the stairway. "Let's go to the kitchen, shall we? I think it will be slightly less hazardous.

            He followed her down to the first floor and into the back corridors. She walked into the kitchen and shooed out two little girls with their hands full of cookies. He stepped out of their way as they giggled their way to the stairwell and pounded up the stairs, racing each other to the top. Harry smiled at his feet and moved into the kitchen. She was already frying something at the stove.

            "It smells good."

            Mrs. Richardson smiled and gestured him toward the table. "Yes. Yes it does."

            He slid into the painted red wood chair and tucked his feet over the wooden crossbars under the chair. "I'm not ok."

            She flipped the hamburger in the pan. "Hm?"

            He propped his elbows on the table and dropped his chin into his hands. "Just because I'm talking and eating doesn't mean I'm ok."

            "I am aware of that." She twisted the timer on the toaster oven.

             He drummed his fingers against his cheeks. "I'm really screwed up."

            She slid the hamburger onto a bun. "All right."

            He pushed the legs of his glasses up and set them higher on his nose. "There are things in my head that shouldn't--that I don't want there."

            "Ok." The toaster oven dinged.

            He let his left arm fall to the table. "I still don't want to talk about it."

            She slid chips onto his plate and set it in front of him. "How do you want to deal with those things in your head?"

            Harry bit into the hamburger and licked at the drop of ketchup that leaked out of his mouth. He pushed the food into his cheek. "Push them away and forget they exist."

            She pulled out the blue chair across from him and sat. "Do you think that will make things better?"

            He took another bite and swallowed. "No."

            She nodded and tapped her hands on the table. "Good."

             He gasped and pushed the chip off his tongue into his cheek. That was hot. "Good?"

            She coughed over her laugh. "As long as you recognize that that isn't a healthy reaction then you can eventually work through it."

            Harry blew on his chip to cool it down and popped it into his mouth. "Ok. You don't want me to push it away and deal with it later."

            She smiled and stole one of his chips. "No."

            He tapped a chip against the edge of the smiley-faced plate. "Do I want to know why?"

            She relaxed back into the chair. "Do you want to find yourself twenty years from now in a psychiatrist's office trying to sort all this out?"

            Harry scooped a drop of ketchup off his hamburger with a chip. "It's very unlikely that I'll be alive in twenty years."

            She froze and leaned forward. "Why do you think that?"

            Harry shrugged and chomped on the chip. "Voldemort will kill me eventually."

            She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "He hasn't yet."

            Harry snorted and dropped against the back of the chair. "Not for a lack of trying."

            She twisted her wedding ring around her finger. "No. I suppose not. But you've won against him again and again from what I've heard."

            Harry flicked a chip across the plate. "I was lucky. Very lucky. Others weren't. People are dead. They're dead and I'm not because I got really lucky."

            She reached over and grabbed his hand. "Yes. You got lucky and are still here, still alive. And you went on and learned more. And every piece of knowledge you gained gave you one more chance to be lucky. If you know this thing you might use it and save your life. If you keep learning, who's to say that you won't keep getting lucky?"

            He yanked his hand back and dropped it in his lap. "I'm tired of fighting. I just want to worry about classes and girls and exams, not how to stay alive another year." He grabbed another chip. "So what now?"

            She stood, went to the sink, and started washing the dishes. "I think that's up to you."

            He finished the hamburger. "How?"

            She laid the clean pan on the drying rack. "What do you think will help you get over whatever is wrong?"

            He dropped his chin back into his hands and sighed. "Don't I even get options to choose from?" The soft inside of the chip squished out under his finger.

            She opened the refrigerator and took out a carrot stick. "Well, I suppose you could talk to me, or Cali in theory. You could write everything down in your journal. Eat cookies and french fries until you puke--"

            Harry bit his lips to keep the water in his mouth. He put down the glass and swallowed coughing. "What?"

            She took a bit of her carrot and threw her hands in the air. "I have no idea. I don't know what's wrong Harry."

            "Can we have library fun?" Cali stood next to the table with her thumbs hooked in her pockets. She had a tattoo circling her belly button. The floor was tiled in aqua blue.

            Mrs. Richardson clapped her hands to her chest. "Morganna! Stop doing that."

            Cali giggled. "My bad. Sorry Mom."

            She ate the rest of her carrot stick. "I swear that magic is an absolute menace. Popping in and out of rooms when you have two perfectly good and functioning legs."

            Harry choked on his water again. He pushed the glass out of his reach. Apparently one wasn't meant to drink here. "You can apparate?"

            Cali grabbed a cookie off the plate on the counter. "What's apparating?"

            Harry took the cookie she held out to him. Chocolate chocolate chip. "Appearing somewhere after disappearing somewhere else." He took a bite and stared down at the cookie. That was great!

            Mrs. Richardson pulled dishes out of the second sink and started stacking them in the dishwasher. "No dear. She can't apparate. Cali has somehow figured out how to phase through other dimensions to enter different points in this one. Or something." She shook her head and turned back to the dishes.

            Harry scrunched his nose. "Um--"

            "Good job Mom, go and confuse the English boy."        She slouched into the chair next to him and grinned. "I can teleport like Nightcrawler from the X-men." She sunk her teeth into the cookie.

            Do not stare. Harry forced his hand to take another bite of the cookie. "X-men?"

            Her eyes widened and she opened and closed her mouth. "You've never seen the X-men?"

            Harry slid slowly to the other side of the chair. "No." He put the last bite of cookie in his mouth.

            "Mom. Mom!" She spun and straddled the chair. "He's culturally deprived! That means I can watch X-men right? That's part of the rules."

            Mrs. Richardson sighed and started the dishwasher. "No."

            Cali smacked the back of the chair. "But Mom--Nightcrawler is so cute." She clutched at her heart. "I'm going through withdrawal."

            Mrs. Richardson crossed her arms over her chest. "He's a blue mutant Morganna."

            She snorted and tossed her hair to the side. "He's got a holographic imager."

            Mrs. Richardson rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Not today. Please."

            "Yes Mom." She turned back around in her chair. "Will you at least feed me?"

            "Why didn't you go to lunch with everyone else?"

            She shrugged. "I was finishing that potion." She tapped her fingers on the table. "So library then?"

            Mrs. Richardson shook her head. "Morganna, I'm assuming you understand what you're talking about, but help out your poor old mother for once."

            Cali shrugged. "There are books in the library on everything. Whatever is wrong with you Harry, there's probably a book about it. Or we could just read Shakespeare. He wrote about everything. You have read Shakespeare, right Harry?" She smiled and snagged a chip off his plate.          She licked her fingers. Bad Harry. He picked up another chip. "Um. No."

            "No!" She slid to the edge of the chair. "But you're English, he's English."

            Harry shrugged and popped another chip into his mouth.

            Cali shook her head. "Ok. That's it. Shakespeare it is. Can I take him to the town library? I haven't been there in awhile." She pulled her right knee onto the chair.

            Mrs. Richardson gritted her teeth. "If he wants to go."

            Cali smiled and rested her chin on her knee. "You want to go Harry?"

            Harry clenched his teeth. I don't know what's out there. I don't know where I am. "I don't know."

            Cali caught a look from her mom and dropped her knee to the floor. "Ok. That's no problem. No problem at all. I'll bring Shakespeare to you. How 'bout a play about fairies?"

            Harry laughed. "Fairies?"

            She scrunched her nose at him. "You'll see." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Crap. I'm late for class. Dad told me not to show up late again. See you later Harry." She grabbed three cookies and ran out the door.

            Harry watched her disappear out the door. "What class is she going to?"

            Mrs. Richardson smiled. "Potions. Her father teaches it during the summer. He gets a kick out of being strict when she's late, so she tries to make sure she's late for every class."

            Harry cringed. "I don't think I'd ever voluntarily take a potions class."

            She laughed and sat next to him. "Why?"

            "I hate potions. He's always trying to make me screw up."

            "Severus?"

            "Yes. He's always breathing down my neck and distracting me so I confuse the directions and ruin the potion."

            She laughed and patted his shoulder. "That does sound like Severus. It's unfortunate that he's turning students off of potions. He's so wonderful at them."

            "He's a horrible teacher. Dumbledore should fire him. Get him away from me--the students. Dumbledore shouldn't have given him a second chance. He should be in Azkaban with the other evil bastards rotting where he can't--" Harry pulled his feet onto the chair, wrapping his arms around his knees.

            "Harry?"

            He buried his head in his knees. " I can't--I'm sorry." He couldn't stop shaking.

            She moved behind the chair and wrapped her arms around him. "It's ok. It's ok." She pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "It will be okay."

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Leave feedback so I know if my writing is getting any better. Crosses fingers in hopes of reviews in her inbox.


	12. Shakespeare returns

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know.

Another chapter rewritten and extended. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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"Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end. O churl, drunk all, and left no friendly drop to help me after? Oh happy dagger, this is thy sheath, there rust, and let me die." Cali draped her arm over her forehead and swooned back against the couch.

"This is a happy play. Bloody hell this Shakespeare guy is depressing." Harry reached over to get his Pepsi off the end table.

Cali giggled and shut the book. "Well yes. But it's perfect. It's all about love. The fight for it and the ultimate surrender to it." She clapped her hand to her heart.

Harry slurped his Pepsi and shook his head. "It's still depressing."

Cali ran her finger down the spine of the three-inch thick book. "Too depressing for you right now?"

Harry shrugged and put the can back on the wet ring it left on the table. "No. I don't think so." He propped his feet on the edge of the coffee table. "But did this man write anything happy?"

She balanced a gummy bear on her nose. "That is the great debate. But let's try a comedy." She jerked her head and caught the bear in her mouth. She slid her finger down the pages, dug her fingernail into a spot halfway down, and pushed the preceding pages open. She cleared her throat and threw her arms into the air. "If nothing lets to make us happy both But this my masculine usurp'd attire." The book dropped closed again. "Is that better?"

Harry lowered a strand of liquorish into his mouth. "Is some woman dressed as a man?"

Cali laid her legs across his. "Yes."

He pushed her legs off and smacked her hand away from trying to smooth his hair. "Why?"

She smacked him back and slurped the last of her smoothie off the bottom of the cup. "I don't have any idea. That is still the one part of this play that makes no sense to me. At least in As You Like It there was a reason Rosalind dressed like a man."

Harry took the cup out of her hand and tossed it into the garbage can next to the sofa. "This guy wrote more than one play with women dressed as men?"

Cali popped the cooler on the coffee table open and pulled out a green can. "Yep."

Harry dragged his Pepsi across the table, pulling the water along with it. "Wow."

She pulled the tab up and folded it back and forth. It snapped off and she dropped it on top of the cooler. "Pretty much." Cali took a sip of her 7-up. She grinned and pushed the book off her lap. It landed with a thump and she kicked it under the table. "I love Shakespeare. It has every possible problem in it exaggerated to the extreme."

Harry took a gulp of his Pepsi. "Does anyone get raped in them?"

"I don't--" Cali stopped and set her drink on the table. "Oh." She set her feet flat on the floor.

Harry turned the can around in his palm. "Yeah."

She bit her lip and started chewing on her thumbnail. "I don't know if Shakespeare can help that."

Harry took a deep breath and set the can down on the table. He turned and pulled his legs onto the couch facing her. Dive in like a true Gryffindor Potter. "What about dreams? If you don't know if something is real or not?"

Cali tucked her legs in and pulled her feet on top of her thighs. "Dreams? There's a lot of dream stuff in Shakespeare. Warnings, prophecies, and the like."

Harry dropped back, bouncing off the velvety fabric. "Bloody hell."

Cali interlaced her fingers in his, brushing her thumb over his fingers. "It--It was a dream?"

He closed his eyes. Her skin slide over his, sending goose bumps up his arms. "Yes. No. I--I don't know."

Her fingers stilled. Her other hand was pinching her bottom lip. "Have you had the dream more than once?"

Harry pushed his glasses up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes. Every time I try to sleep."

She slid closer. Her leg pressed against his. "What makes you think it might not be a dream?"

How much can I tell her? I was sent here to get help. They can't help me if they don't know what's going on. "I--I've had dreams that have been true."

She bounced and grabbed his other hand. "You're clairvoyant?"

He leaned away from her. What did she get so excited? "I'm what?"

She lifted her shoulders and pulled her arms together. "You can see the future?"

He shook his head and snorted. "No. I suck at divination. That's why I don't know what to think about this."

Cali relaxed back and sucked her lower lip into her mouth. "I think I might need the background to help you with this. Can you--do you want to tell me?"

Harry pulled his left hand away, drained his Pepsi can, and threw it into the garbage. "It's a really long story."

Cali pulled him so he turned on the couch and then leaned against him. "I don't have anything else to do today."

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Leave feedback so I know if my writing is getting any better. Crosses fingers in hopes of reviews in her inbox.


	13. Explanations

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know.

Another chapter rewritten and extended. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

-----

"So this, Voldemort, tried to kill you because of this prophecy. And because he's a moron he screwed up and got himself, let's say exiled from his body." Cali licked the crumbs off her fingers. "When he kidnaps you and uses your blood to resurrect himself you end up with this, connection, that allows you to see things in his head. Am I getting this right?"

Harry pulled his feet onto the seat of the chair. "Yes."

Cali stared at him and sighed. "Wow. Ok then. Not joking. All right. Something is really bothering me in this, but I can't figure out what." The microwave buzzed and she pulled out the pizza rolls.

"Well I already knew that there was SOMETHING wrong but I don't know--" he popped a pizza roll into his mouth. Don't annoy the girl who is willing to help you. He licked the drop of grease off his finger.

"So you saw your best friend's father getting bitten by a snake, then a Death Eater getting tortured, and then a false vision of you Godfather." Cali slipped into the chair next to him and sunk her teeth into a pizza roll.

He nodded and stared at the inside of the pizza roll. Who ever thought of taking sauce and cheese and putting them in a little packet of dough? People are so strange. He finished off the second half. "Yes. And now Voldemort knows that he can put stuff in my head."

"God!" She shifted and sat on her feet. He toenails were painted red today. She growled and twisted, sitting on the table and grabbing a pizza roll. "Why can't I figure this out? I just know it's so simple."

Mom walked into the room in her blue bathrobe. "Cali, what are you doing here at this time of night?"

Cali giggled and curled her toes around the top of the chair. "Hey Mom. We were hungry."

Mom rubbed her eyes. "We?" She blinked for a moment. "Oh, hello Harry."

Harry coughed past the air trying to force its way out of his lungs. "Hello."

She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, glancing at her watch. "It's three o'clock in the morning. Shouldn't you two be in bed?"

Cali grabbed another pizza roll. "I'm not tired." She winked at Harry and smiled innocently at Mom.

Harry sucked the sauce off his thumb. "Me neither."

Mom sighed and walked towards the door. "Try to stick to the common rooms next time. I do have an alarm that alerts me if anyone enters any of the back rooms after one. Maybe one day you'll see things through my eyes and go to bed at a decent hour, hm?" She shut the door behind her.

Cali bit into the pizza roll and froze. "That's it!"

Harry started and reached to grab the last pizza roll. "What?"

She hopped off of the table and gestured toward the closed door. "Point of view. You saw things through the snake's eyes, and Voldemort's eyes. But your dream is through your own eyes. You're not seeing it, you're in it."

"Yeah." He finished his pizza roll. "So what does that mean?"

Cali jumped to sit on the counter. "It means that the dreams aren't coming from Voldemort. You aren't seeing things through his eyes. If he were trying to trick you, you would have seen it through his eyes."

Harry bit his lip. "Yeah. Yeah! So it's not Voldemort." He dropped his feet to the ground. "But then, what is it? Is it real? A vision of the future?"  
Cali held up her hands to stop him. "Whoa. You have to take it one step at a time. Have you had the dream since you've been here?"

Harry picked at his fingernails. "Yes."

Cali bent her knee, put her foot on the counter, and pushed herself to standing. She played with the flowers sitting on top of the refrigerator. "Is the, um, person in your dream here? They couldn't be, right? Since no one knows you're here."

Harry stood and leaned against the table. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, no. But he could be. He could have come here."

Cali jumped to the floor and cringed as the vibrations took a moment to fade. "Are you going to tell me who this other person is?"

"No." He wandered to the sink and grabbed a cookie off of the plate.

Cali put her hands on her hips in fists. "Harry, who am I going to tell? I wouldn't--I couldn't--" Cali dropped her hands and rubbed her forehead. "No--never mind. I'm not going to force you to tell me. That's horrible. Ok. Trying to work this out." She turned and wandered around her half of the room chewing on her middle finger.

Harry drummed his fingers on the sink. "Snape."

"What?"

Harry sighed and turned to face her. "Severus Snape. He's the one in my dream."

Cali lowered herself into the chair he had vacated. "Severus Snape?"

"Yes." He leaned back against the counter. She's acting weird. Why--He froze, his eyes scanning the room for anything weird. "Why? Do you know who he is?"

Cali dropped her head into her hands. "Yes. I've never met him but--"

Harry pushed off the counter and bolted toward the door. "Forget it."

"What?"

"Forget I said it. I was wrong. It wasn't him. Just--please--" He twisted the door knob and pulled it open.

"No. Harry, wait." She grabbed his shoulder and forced the door closed. "He hasn't been here. I know. Not since you came." She staggered back. "Wait. He came the same time you did, I remember the log."

Harry hugged himself and moved just to the right of the doorway. "He brought me here. Him and Lupin."

"If he were--why would he--" She pushed her hair behind her shoulders. "Well that's weird--" She shook her head and pushed her hair back again. "But the good thing here is that there's a log. It records everyone who comes and goes by magical or non-magical means. He hasn't been here. So it's not real."

Harry's arms dropped to his sides and he relaxed against the wall. "So what? It's a prophecy? I hate prophecies. So far they've tended to screw me over."

Cali massaged her temples. "Maybe it's not a prophecy."

Harry let all of the air rush out of his lungs. "Then what is it?"

Cali smiled. "I don't know. But I'm going to figure it out. I promise." She kissed his hand and pulled him toward the door on the other side of the room.

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Leave feedback so I know if my writing is getting any better. Crosses fingers in hopes of reviews in her inbox.


	14. The spell

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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The long fingers brushed along his back, sliding through his hair.

"Harry!"

He bolted out of bed and scrambled against the arms trying to hold him on the bed.

"Harry, it's okay. It's Cali."

Harry let his arm drop and he squinted. "Cali?"

She moved closer and sat next to him on the bed so he could make her out without his glasses on. "Yeah. Do you remember? We were trying to figure out what was going on in your head."

"I--Yeah. Yeah I remember." He tangled his fingers in his hair. He tensed his shoulders, testing out the muscles. The tingling burn spread across his back. "Did we figure anything out?"

"Yes actually."

He collapsed back on the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. "Really? What?"

The covers pulled away from his side. "It's not just a dream that trying to express some unconscious problem."

"Um." Harry stretched his neck to the side to loosen up the muscles. It feels like I'm playing quittich in my sleep. He groaned and rubbed his neck. I think I'm the bluddger. "Okay." He pushed himself up on his palms. "And we know this how?"

Cali had the cover pulled over her lap, leaning her head on her elbows that were planted on the bed beyond her knees. "You started mumbling moments after you fell asleep. There wasn't enough time for you to fall into REM sleep."

Harry rubbed his eyes. I understood the words there. It must be English. He yawned, covering his mouth. I think I'll blame it on Americans and leave my lack of sleep out of it. I've gotten through Potions class on barely any sleep before. "REM sleep?"

"It's the stage of sleep when you dream." Cali picked a band off the nightstand and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "We really need to get you some muggle knowledge."

Yeah. I'm starting to see that. He took his glasses off the nightstand and slipped them on. "So, if it's not Voldemort, not a premonition, not real, and not a dream, what is it?"

Cali leaned over the edge of the bed and appeared back with her sneakers in her hand. She threw the cover to the side and pulled on the shoes without untying them. "I want to cast a spell on you."

Harry blinked. Was there something before that I missed? "What?"

She hopped off the bed and ripped open dresser drawers. "It's an info spell. It won't affect you in any way. Can I?" She opened the closet and sunk her arms into the pile of clothes that coated the floor.

It's probably for the best that she has a single room. "Is there any particular reason you want to cast a spell on me?"

She kicked the pile of clothes and clucked her tongue as she scanned the room. "Yes." She upended the laundry basket onto the floor and started throwing shirts and skirts outward from the pile.

She is insane. Harry smiled. Mom is right. Her brain just doesn't work like other brains do. "Are you going to tell me why?"

She sighed and extricated herself from the pile. "No." She clapped her hands and grabbed something off her necklace holder.

Harry swung his legs off the bed and pulled on his shoes. "Fine. I get the feeling you'll just talk me into it later anyway."

"Of course I will. Manipulation is my most marketable skill." Cali smiled, grabbed his arm, and dragged him out of the room.

Cali slipped through the newly created gap between the bookcases and pulled him through after her. She took the orange, twisted plastic band that she'd grabbed from her necklace holder and put the key hooked to it in the lock. She twisted the key and the door swung open.

"What is this place?" The walls were painted black, as was the trunk in the corner, the only piece of furniture in the room.

Cali pushed him through the door. Wood scraped against stone as the bookcases slid together. The door shut silently and cut off the light in the small hallway. No light came under the door. The torches rested in brackets in each corner. He tapped his finger against the light and it clicked against his fingernail. Glass. "It's my spell room. No one else has the key except for Dad. It's hidden so no one gets curious and tries to pick the lock. There's nothing to interrupt concentration. Here, sit in the middle." She pushed him toward the chalk circle drawn on the floor. He sat down and she set candles around the circle. She lit the candles and hit a button on the wall. The candlelight flickered and threw shadows out into the darkness. She slipped between two of the candles and sat in front of him. "Take my hands."

He reached his hands out and let his skin slide against hers. The candles threw shadows into her brown eyes making them almost black. "I thought your eyes were green."

She didn't blink. "Contacts my dear. Close your eyes."

Harry closed his eyes. Which color isn't real? The green were sparkling with life, but they were too bright. The brown seemed too dark. No one should be able to hide so many things in darkness. His hands tingled, sliding on the lotion covering Cali's hands. Peaches. She smelled like peaches and something else. Something sharp. It smelled like Snape's classroom. His back started tingling. It smells like the Great Hall too. Like all of Hogwarts. It's magic. She smells like magic. His muscles cramped, trying to pull his arms down. He pulled them up and kept them straight. Do I want to go back there? Be forced down into the dungeon everyday and humiliated? His head pounded. Ow. I hate headaches. A piece of glass jabbed into his scar. "Ow." He ripped his hands away and grabbed his forehead. "What did you do?" He staggered to his feet and walked to the edge of the circle, rubbing his forehead. The pain started to dull. "Why do I agree to--What?"

Her face was white. She stood, fine tremors traveling down her arms. "I--you didn't--say--"

He dropped his arm and clenched his fists. "You saw my dream?!"

She covered her mouth with her hand and sniffed a few times. "No. It's not--It's in your head."

Harry stalked forward and stopped inches from her. "I know it is. What? You thought it was in the mind of a cat or something?"

Her eyes dropped from his then shot back up. Her pupils erased most of the brown from her eyes. "No!" She grabbed his arms and squeezed. "It's a spell." She blinked and yanked her arms back. "But it was cast from inside your head. By something else." She growled. "I don't--"

Harry moved back and watched as she paced from one side of the circle to the other. His chest contracted but he kept his mouth shut. If I weren't here would she be walking all the way around the circle? If no one stopped her how long would she go in circles like a mouse in a cage? Harry shook his head. I'm hysterical. I went to long without sleep. Order me a room at St. Mungos please. "A spell?"

Cali waved her arm and the candles went out. The torches flared up, blasting the room with light before dimming.

Harry jumped over the candles and stumbled to the wall. "Bloody hell! How did you do that?!"

Cali watched him out of the corner of her eyes. "Do what?"

Harry sucked in air. He couldn't breathe. "Do what?! You just did magic without a wand."

Cali shrugged and chewed on her lip. "Why would I need a wand?"

Harry stalked toward her. She looks guilty. Her eyes keep moving toward the door. "I have a wand. You can't control magic without a wand." He stopped a few feet from her. "But you can. How?"

Cali walked out of the circle and headed toward the door. "I just can. It's how I was taught."

The torch bottom was made of brown plastic and even had a wood grain pattern on it. The glass top was shaped to resemble flames. "That would make everything so much stronger. They couldn't disarm you. They couldn't make you helpless by taking your wand." He walked over and clasped her hands in his. "Can you teach me?"

Cali looked into his eyes and pulled him into a hug. "Let's reverse this spell first, okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Okay." Voldemort wouldn't know what hit him. Can Dumbledore do wand less magic? I did it when I was little. Everyone did. It's brought on by emotions. How can you control your emotions enough to deal with large amounts of energy?

Cali pulled him toward the door. "You're exhausted Harry. Come on. Let's get you to bed."

Yes. Bed. That sounds nice. Dreams of--wait. "No." He pulled back into the room. "That's okay. I can stay awake until we fix whatever is wrong."

Cali pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. She took a deep breath and moved her hands away. "Harry, I can't break the spell until I find out which spell it is. It could take days or even weeks."

Harry wrapped his arms around himself. "That's okay. I can stay awake." I'll need some pepper up potion and--what else can I use to stay awake? Mom said if we kept eating chocolate and pop we'd never sleep and eventually drive her insane. I'll eat those. I'll need something to keep busy. If I'm just sitting I'll get tired.

Cali slipped her arm around his waist and pulled him out the door. She locked it and pulled the lever. The sliver of light grew and Cali pushed on the gap to swing the bookcase out. She dragged him after her. Her nails dug into his hip. "Come on. We'll curl up on the big puffy couch in the lounge and watch bad late night movies, okay?"

This girl had the strength of Hagrid. "You shouldn't lose sleep because of me. Go to bed. I'll be fine." He pushed the opening closed as he fell against it and tugged himself free.

Cali moved forward and pressed against him. "We're in this together now Harry. You can't get rid of me." She grabbed both of his arms and guided him down the hall toward the semi-non-formal lounge. "Plus, we have to introduce you to American muggle culture." She propelled him to the fluffy white couch in front of the television.

He sunk into the squishy cushions. "Why are you doing this?"

She dove into the cushions beside him with the remote clutched in her hand. She curled her legs next to her and relaxed against his side. "Why wouldn't I do this?"

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Leave feedback so I know if my writing is getting any better. Crosses fingers in hopes of reviews in her inbox.


	15. Movies

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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Harry yawned and stretched his arms above his head. "So this kid is trying to set his Dad up on a date?"

Cali slid back onto the couch, her mug of coffee clutched between her palms. "Yes."

"And this woman who's engaged to another man falls in love with him despite the fact that she's never met him or even seen him?"

Cali sighed with a smile and sipped the steaming liquid. "Yes. It's so romantic."

Harry snorted. "Romantic? It's stupid."

Cali kicked his ankle. "Don't mock Sleepless in Seattle."

Harry rubbed his ankle and hid it under the pillows out of her range. "It's a good movie. It just doesn't make sense."

She waggled her finger toward his face. "That just shows that you have to watch more movies."

Harry shrugged and ripped off another strand of licorice. "Well that is probably true since I never watched a movie before tonight."

Cali shook her head and squirmed lower into the cushions, laying her head against the arm. "That is just so weird." Her eyes dropped closed.

Harry took a gummy bear off the end table and set it in her hair. "Well if you grew up with relatives that resented your existence you'd be deprived too."

She cracked open her eyes. "Your life sucked. Got it. But you do have to admit that you're lucky not to have ended up with a wizard name." She shook her hair and lifted the green bear off her leg between two fingers.

"My friend Hermione is muggleborn." He dogged the bear and watched it land on the bookshelf.

"Ouch." She gulped her coffee. "Her parents just wanted her to get beat up, didn't they?"

Harry blinked his eyes until his vision cleared and grabbed a chocolate bar off the table. "You say I've got a normal name and I got beat up."

Cali forced her eyes open and twisted to face him. "By who?"

"My cousin Dudley and all his friends." He picked at a string coming loose around a button on the back of the couch. "Everyone was too scared of them to come near me."

"That really sucks. Stupid wimps." Cali stretched toward the pile of candy. The box of gummy bears floated to her hand.

The bag of gummy worms didn't even shift on the table. Harry sighed. "You have to show me how to do that."

Cali smirked and pulled out a bear. "I think you should figure out how to do it yourself." She growled at the green bear and tossed it to him. She extracted a red one from the box and munched happily.

Harry ripped the bear's head off. "How am I supposed to do that? I don't even know what kind of stuff you can do."

Cali dropped her coffee onto the table. The liquid sloshed out and advanced toward the edge of the table. "Let's watch a movie with magic! That's how I learned most of the obscure stuff I can do." She giggled. "Dad freaked out. He insisted that I cease and desist doing things contrary to the laws of physics. Then I made the mistake of asking what the laws of physics were and ended up taking every science class imaginable. There are so many things you shouldn't be able to do. It's really cool."

Harry watched her gesturing hands still. What to take from that? Seemingly unimportant afterthought tacked onto the end of what she was saying. Which means she wants me to respond to that. So-- "There are movies with magic?"

Cali frowned and flung another green bear at him. "Hell yeah. Hundreds. Thousands. Millions. Insert evil laugh here because I can't do it well. Let's see which ones we have." Cali scrambled over and opened the cabinet. "Labyrinth-no, Interview with a vampire-no, Buffy the Vampire Slayer-no, The craft-Hell No. If there was ever a crappy, unrealistic magic movie that is it. Oh! Practical Magic." She turned. "It's a romantic movie though. You up for it?"

Harry sighed. Not even an explosion for ignoring what she wanted to talk about. We're spending too much time together. "Good movie?"

She hugged the box to her chest. "I love it. And Marcus likes it too."

Harry smiled and grabbed another chocolate bar from the pile. This one apparently has crisped rice in it. Why would you put rice in a candy bar? "I'm up for it."

Cali pushed it into the VCR and hopped back to the couch. She snuggled up next to him. "Maybe after this I'll show you how to do one thing from the movie."

Harry smiled. "Really? And break further whatever rules you broke just by letting me know you could do magic without a wand?"

Cali smacked his arm. "You are too smart for your own good sometimes. Yes. I broke rules. But you can either do it or you can't because you've been using a wand, so I can't see what I've got to lose. So I will show you one thing, but not with pins. Bad consequences. As you will see."

"That was so cool!"

"Told you so." Cali laid her head on his shoulder. "So what do you want to learn how to do?"

Harry played with her fingers, twisting her ring around her finger. "Can you do the fire thing?"

Cali stood, grabbed his hands, and pulled him up. "That is my personal favorite." She walked over to the fireplace. Two white pillar candles flanked a painting of a building, the inscription simply 'The Academy- 1982.' She blew out and the wick flickered into life. "Your turn."

Harry walked over slowly and stood next to her. "What am I supposed to do?"

She leaned against the mantel. "Have you ever done magic without a wand? You know, uncontrolled, emotional magic?"

Maybe they don't all go through that here. "Yes."

She nudged him forward and turned him to face the second candle. "Then you know it's possible. There's magic in everything. Every wall, every person, even every gust of air is infused with magic. Close your eyes. Feel it around you. It's right there for you to tap into. It lets you see everything moving." Her fingers uncoiled from around his arm. "The wick is right there. All you need is a spark, one tiny little spark. Blow on the wick, it will make the magic collide and poof, candle flame."

Harry closed his eyes. This was stupid. You couldn't make a candle light by blowing on it. You needed a wand, or at least a spell. But she did it. She lit the candle. I blew up Aunt Marge. Anyone would think that would be impossible without a wand. Dobby doesn't use a wand. When she was casting the spell I felt something around her. It was magic. If it felt like Hogwarts then the school is immersed in magic. We must draw on that. But it doesn't feel like it. I never noticed it until I felt it around her. Harry blew out slowly. It was everywhere, sparkling, shifting, and just waiting for someone to use it. He blew harder, seeing two sparkles collide.

"You did it!" Cali tugged on his arms.

His eyes popped open. The flicker didn't disappear. "I did it!" He pulled Cali into a hug.

"What the devil is going on in here?" Mom was wandering the school again. She wasn't wearing her bathrobe.

Cali turned her head, resting it against his chest. "Just lighting candles."

Mom sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Again? Don't you ever get tired of that trick?" She glanced at the wall. "And in the middle of the night?"

Cali moved away and held her hand in the air. She raised one finger. "One-no." She lifted a second finger. "Two- I was showing Harry." She crossed her arms over her chest. "He is my first successful student."

Mom's mouth opened and closed. "He managed it?!"

"Yep." Cali leaned back against him as Mom stared.

"Incredible." She shook her head. "Though your father is not going to be happy about you breaking the rules, I think his excitement will overshadow it." She ruffled his hair. "You seem like an entirely different boy Harry."

He smiled and ducked away from her hand. "I know."

"I take it from--" She gestured around the room, "--this that you'll be wanting to stay here with us?"

He tightened his arms around Cali. "Yes. That is--if I can."

Mom wrapped an arm around his and Cali's shoulders. "Of course. But--They are coming tomorrow. We can tell them that you've miraculously improved, but I'd like a stronger argument than that. If you have one that is."

Cali shifted to hug Mom too. "It's a spell. Tomorrow I'm going to try and find out what spell it is so I can work on a reversal."

Mom pulled back. "It's a spell?"

"Yeah. Once it's broken, well things won't be fixed, but it's a step in the right direction. Right Harry?"

He smiled. "Right." He looked at the two women in his arms. He barely knew them. He'd only known them for two weeks. Then again he'd only known Hagrid for a few hours before he'd gone off to London with him. It was nice here. It felt like home.

Mom wiped chocolate off Cali's cheek. "And the next necessary step is?"

"Candy and movies." They ran and jumped over the back of the couch, landing in a heap.

Mom laughed. "Be careful you two. And they'll be here around eight. I would appreciate it if you at least attempted to appear as if you two have slept. It would make things easier."

Cali grabbed a Twix bar. "I make no promises and break no contracts."

"Well I for one am heading to bed. Some of us need our beauty sleep." She kissed Cali's cheek and messed up his hair again. The doors to the lounge clicked shut.

Harry let out the yawn he'd been holding in.

Cali crunched into the candy bar. "Tired?"

Harry rubbed his eyes. "Yeah."

Cali tossed the package onto the table. "Wanna sleep?"

Harry shrugged. I have to stay awake to keep the dreams away. "Kind of but not really."

Cali laughed softly and brushed the hair off his face. "I've got the cure." A tape floated up and replaced the other one in the VCR.

Harry wiped his glasses on his shirt and slipped them back on. It wasn't any clearer. "What is it?"

"Lawrence of Arabia. Four of the most boring hours ever produced."

He pushed his fingernails into his palms. "This is supposed to help how?"

Cali pushed him down and lay in front of him, both facing the TV. "You get to sleep. And later on you can claim that you watched the movie."

"It can't be that bad." And it won't stop the dreams.

"Wait for the desert sun scene. You'll never want to see another grain of sand again." She closed her eyes and shifted, moving closer to him.

She's exhausted. She has a right to sleep. Maybe I won't dream if there's someone else there. "I guess we'll see."

"Um hum." Her eyes were closed; her arms pulled up and crossed over her chest.

Harry shifted, trying not to move her and rested his head on the pillow. I can always just watch the movie. I've stayed awake through History of Magic. How bad can this be? The screen was filled with camels, and random people, and--

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Leave feedback so I know if my writing is getting any better. Crosses fingers in hopes of reviews in her inbox.


	16. RENT

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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Cali groaned and flipped herself onto her stomach. "Ugh. What time is it?"

"Two. You were really conked out." Harry brushed the hair off her face. "Feeling more awake now?"

Cali sat up and stretched her arms over her head. "Aren't you supposed to be the one making up sleep? How long have you been up?"

Harry laughed and smoothed her hair down. "Yes. And I did. Best night's sleep I've had in years. I woke up and wasn't tired anymore." He gestured at the TV. "I've been watching this movie. I can't understand why people keep breaking out in song."

Cali looked over at the screen and laughed. "It's a musical. It's like a movie only they sing too."

Harry frowned. "Oh." He shrugged. "I like it. I don't exactly understand it, but I like it."

Cali lay back down and snuggled into the pillow. "What is it?"

Harry reached over her and grabbed a candy bar off the table. "RENT. I get the part where they don't have enough money to pay for their flat, but I think there's a, what did you call it, a secondary plot line that I'm missing."

Cali yawned. "You're going to rot your teeth." She pulled the candy out of his hand, broke off the end, and popped it in her mouth. "The whole AZT thing?"

He grabbed the chocolate back. "Yeah."

Cali pulled herself up to sit against the arm of the couch. "AZT is a drug used to treat a disease called AIDS. The disease destroys your immune system."

I wonder if wizards can cure it. "And they all have it?"

Cali ran her hands through her hair and shook them to poof it up. "Not all. A lot of them do though."

Harry balanced on the back of the couch and watched her contort around as she tried to go back to sleep and wake up at the same time. "So not only are they fighting with Benny but with disease?"

She rolled off the couch and landed on her hands and knees on the floor. "Exactly." She dropped onto her back and took a can of pop out of the cooler.

"I understand." Harry slid back onto the couch and pulled his knees to his chest. "I like the songs."

Cali popped the tab and gulped half the can. She smacked her lips together. "Yum. Caffeine. Which is your favorite?"

My favorite caffeine? Harry smiled. "The--the life support song. So far."

Cali smiled and nodded. "That's one of my favorites too." She glanced at the clock. "We should start researching to find this spell so we have something tangible when they get here. You chill here and I'll grab some books from the library."

"Ok." Harry watched her force herself to her feet and weave her way through the piles of candy strewn about the floor.

The movie ended with a flourish. "That was great. Sad, but great." Harry dumped another book on the floor

Cali dragged her finger down the page and sighed. "Did you compile a mental list of your favorite songs?"

Harry picked up the nearest book. 'One hundred ways to mess with the heads of your coworkers.' How charming. "Why?"

Cali pushed back from the table and hopped over to the bookshelves. "I have the soundtrack."

'How to convince your boss that he's a chicken.' "The what?"

Plastic clicked together as Cali sorted through a stack of compact discs. "The soundtrack. It's all the songs from the movie."

Harry grinned. "Great! Can we listen to any of them?"

"Yep. And with this handy dandy controller," Cali dangled the remote between two fingers, "we can listen to them in any order and even repeat one song over and over again until you know all the words."

Harry stretched out his back. "What about the song in the life café?"

"Bohemia. Nice choice." Cali hit the buttons and the song started. "And indefinite repeat it is. Now let's get back to work." She hopped over to the table and flopped onto the floor.

The tiled hallway came into focus, filled with all those who had insisted on coming to retrieve Potter.

"Where are we?" Mrs. Weasley twisted her ring around her finger, staying close to her husband.

"Exactly where we are meant to be." Severus clenched his teeth. The last thing he needed was to have these people know about Biara.

"Severus." Biara walked out of the stairwell. "I see you've brought quite an entourage with you. Planning to take the boy by force?"

"And have you lord it over my head for the next fifty years? Do I look foolish? They insisted they come." He crossed his arms over his chest. She would not make him appear nice in front of these people.

"How is Harry?" Mrs. Weasley held onto her husband's arm.

Biara scratched her fingernails together. It was her nervous habit. Something is wrong. "He's doing much better."

She's lying, or at least hiding something. "Better? Better than what? You said he refused to talk or eat." Her lips thinned as he spoke. "Or do we consider better no longer attacking random people?"

Biara poked her finger into his chest. "Severus, magic or no magic I will beat the bloody crap out of you if you take that tone with me."

The Weasley's and Lupin looked stunned. How dare she make him appear--

Professor Dumbledore smiled. "Biara my dear you haven't changed a bit."

Biara's face softened. She walked over and took his hands. "Hello Albus. It's wonderful to see you again."

He put an arm around her shoulders. "And how are your little ones?"

Biara sighed and shook her head. "Well Lila is still stuck in her mind phase while Morganna has become, well in her own words, uberpowerful." She laughed. "Perhaps some bloodlines shouldn't be mixed."

Dumbledore inclined his head. "I see."

Biara smiled and shrugged. "Who would have thought? But they are doing wonderful. Morganna has been introducing Harry to the wonders of the muggle world."

Severus snorted. "He grew up with muggles."

Biara glared at him. "_English_ muggles Severus. And undesirable ones at that from what I can tell. There's quite a difference."

Damn her. If she kept talking like that everyone would know that they weren't in England. She was going to get herself killed. "It makes no difference. Where is Potter? We'll collect him and be on our way."

Biara walked toward him. "He doesn't wish to leave. And he's improving."

She is too stubborn for her own good. "You said you didn't think you could do anything to help him."

She scowled. "And it turns out I can't. But Cali is currently trying to reverse the spell responsible for Harry's actions."

Mrs. Weasley jumped in. "What kind of spell?"

Biara waved her arm dismissively. "Damned if I know. But Cali knows more about these things than I do. God knows I can't get that child to stop studying everything there is to know about magic."

"Where are they?" Professor Dumbledore sounded worried.

"The lounge. This way." They all followed her down the hallway. She opened a double set of French doors. The floor was strewn with books and candy wrappers.

Potter was flipping through a book while humming along to the song playing in the room. "This book's useless, but if I ever want to eat slugs I know where to find about fifty recipes." He leaned back against the chair, closed his eyes and started singing. "We raise our glass, you bet your ass to, La Vie Boheme." He jumped up and started dancing around. He shook his hips from side to side and continued singing. "Hating dear old Mom and Dad." Dear Merlin.

The girl on the floor continued looking through the three books in front of her while singing other parts of the song.

"Mucho masturbation." Potter flopped down on the couch. "To blow off Auntie Em."

"I can't believe you learned this whole song." She glanced toward the wall and giggled. "Never mind. It's been six hours."

Potter didn't stop singing.

The song ended abruptly as Biara hit a button on the device on the bookshelf. "We have visitors you two."

Potter froze and sat up slowly, facing the other wall. He stood and slowly turned around. "Mrs. Weasley!" He ran over and threw himself into her arms.

She wrapped her arms around him. "Harry! Oh Merlin, are you all right?"

Potter didn't let go of her. "No, but I'll be better once we break this stupid spell."

She pulled back and smoothed down his hair. Like anything would help that rat's nest.

Dumbledore didn't take his eyes off the boy. "What spell?"

Potter pulled away and turned to face Professor Dumbledore. "I don't know. That's Cali's job." He walked back over to the couch.

Cali dropped a book to the floor. "Not that one."

Dumbledore moved forward and picked up the book on the top of one of the many piles thrown around the room. 'Spells to spin lies.' What a bloody waste of a book. "You don't know what spell it is?"

She shrugged. "Nope. Just that it was cast from inside his head, but damned if I know how anyone managed that one."

Arthur cleared his throat. "How do you know that there is a spell on him, and that it was cast from inside his head?"

Cali turned the page and didn't even turn to see whom she was talking to. "Revelation spell."

Arthur moved closer to his wife. "I've never heard of it."

Cali pushed off the floor and sat next to Harry. "Well you wouldn't have. I wrote it."

Mrs. Weasley looked like her eyes were going to fall out of her head. "You- -wrote it?"

"Yeah. Part of a scavenger hunt. We had to figure out which item had a spell cast on it and I didn't feel like going through a bunch of long boring tests." Cali's hand paused in its trek down the page. "Oh my God! This is it! Cavarian. The caster can use it to implant dreams."

"How do we reverse it?" Potter leaned in.

She smacked her palm against her leg. "But this says that the dreams are totally fake. I mean they're distinguishable. Which makes sense if you think about it. No one else can know exactly how you perceive the outside world. But if they were in your head, they could use your own perceptions. Make it more of a memory than a dream."

Potter dropped back into the couch. "And fucking terrifying."

Cali smacked his arm. "Harry! You're picking up my foul language. I'm truly proud."

"Morganna!" Biara's eyes jumped between the visitors. She doesn't care that he said that, she cares that we heard it. Something is most definitely going on here.

Cali draped her arm over Potter's shoulders. "Come on Mom. Let me corrupt the boy. It'll be a fun ride."

Biara's eyes flashed and Cali pulled back her arm. "Morganna, can you reverse the spell?"

Cali chewed on her lip and kept her eyes on the book. "Well, no. Not exactly. The reversal pulls out the stuff that doesn't fit. But all the stuff in his head will appear to fit. You'd need to get in the same way whoever cast it did."

Potter kicked over a pile of books. "And we don't know how they got in."

The pile of books restacked itself. Cali knocked her shoulder against Potter's. "Come on Harry. Someone invades your mind. How can you miss that?"

"Voldemort." Professor Dumbledore walked toward the couch. "In the ministry."

Potter looked at the floor. "Oh. Oh!"

Cali smacked her forehead. "Oh, he says. What exactly happened in the ministry with Voldemort?"

Potter shrugged. "He possessed me and tried to get Dumbledore to kill me."

Mrs. Weasley gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth. Apparently Dumbledore hadn't revealed everything that had happened.

Cali laughed. "And this just slipped your mind?"

Potter crossed his arms over his chest. "I was trying to repress it all thank you very much."

Cali sighed and got to her feet. "So I just need to posses you and screw with your mind."

Severus stepped forward. "And you believe that it is so easy to possess someone and 'screw' with their mind as you say?" Uberpowerful Biara said. What exactly did she mean?

Her eyes nearly crackled with power. "I know it is Severus Snape. Maybe you don't have the power to do it, but that doesn't mean that I don't." She glared at him and collapsed onto the couch.

"Cali!" Biara rushed over. "Oh my God."

"Mom I'm fine." Potter stared at his hands and giggled. Giggled? "Weird."

"Harry?" Biara took a step toward him.

Potter spun in a circle then jumped from one foot to the other. "Yeah. He's here too." He smiled. "This boy really needs to eat. He weighs like nothing." Merlin! She did it. She possessed him, and with no visible preparation. As if it were a simple levitation spell. Potter shrugged. "I'll just find the problem and hop out before his consciousness realizes something happened and starts to fight back. I just have to--whoa. Oh my God."

Biara moved toward him again. "Cali?"

Potter--or Cali--was nearly to the point of hyperventilating. What if it's too much of a strain on her body or his? They'd both-- "He didn't- -he just said- -I have to get rid of this."

Potter sat on the couch. His eyes fluttered shut and he collapsed against Cali.

Professor Dumbledore wrapped his arms around Biara who had surged forward. "Wait. If you interrupt her you could kill them both."

Both Cali and Potter opened their eyes, gasping.

Potter jumped up. "Give a boy some warning next time!"

She shook her head. "Sorry. I think I fixed it." She flexed her fingers and shook her arms.

Potter closed his eyes. "I remember it, but it's kind of hazy, like an actual dream." He threw his arms around her. "You are the best person ever."

Her smile was so big that it looked like it hurt. "I know, but it's nice to be reminded."

Biara walked around the couch, grabbed Cali, and pulled her into her arms. "Never do that to me again."

She cringed and wrapped her arms around Biara. "Sorry Mom. But it's better now, so he doesn't have to leave, right?"

Biara sighed and brushed Cali's hair out of her face. "That's not up to me."

Cali slowly pulled away and walked over to Dumbledore. "Can he stay?"

Dumbledore looked down at her, and then looked over at Potter. "What do you want to do Harry?"

Potter turned and he blinked like a brain-addled idiot. "I get to decide?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes Harry. I believe you will be as safe here as anywhere else. You can choose where you'd like to stay."

"Score! I'm staying. Here, right here." He and Cali ran together and jumped up and down.

Something happened between them. They are too close too quickly. But then she did not seem surprised about Voldemort--Biara said they did not know about Voldemort. Severus narrowed his eyes. He told her. He told her everything. His hands curled into fists. That boy has painted her as a target. Damn him!

Cali hugged him. "I get to keep my English wizard!" She squealed. "Oh! Do you want to take classes? Dad's teaching us how to make apple juice without using any apples."

Biara laid her hand on Cali's shoulder. "Cali, you're jumping ahead of yourself. Calm down."

"I can't. Everything's swimming." She grabbed her stomach. "I think I'm going to puke." She disappeared.

Potter jumped back. "What happened?"

Biara pressed her hands to her mouth. "Spell sickness. Too much power too quickly. It overloads your system."

Mrs. Weasley looked around the room. "Where did she go? Is she going to be all right?"

Biara sighed and rubbed her temples. "Yes. It's just an imbalance. She used too much of her internal magic and the natural magic overcompensated. She'll be fine in a few hours." Her eyes locked on the point where Cali had disappeared. "And maybe she'll remember this later."

"Momma?" A little girl in a blue dress wandered through the door clutching a stuffed dog to her chest.

Biara put her hands on her hips but she was smiling. "Lila, you're supposed to be napping."

The girl shook her head. "Not tiward." She walked toward him. "Hewo." She smiled. She was missing one of her bottom teeth. "You're in da pictwers wight? Da funny ones dat move?" She set her stuffed dog on the floor and lifted her arms toward him, opening and closing her hands. "Up?"

He leaned down and picked her up. "Hello?"

Lila pressed her hand to her mouth as she giggled. "You talks funny."

"Do I?"

More giggles. "Yep. Like Momma does sometimes." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Bad man very mad. Mean stick hurt you. Shoulda gone to da right, not da left." She pressed her lips to his ear. "Don't go left Uncle Severus." She kissed his cheek. "Tiward now."

"Come here honey. We'll get you back to bed." Biara lifted Lila out of his arms. "You'll be okay Harry?"

Potter bit his lip before taking a deep breath and nodding. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

She walked out of the room, bouncing Lila on her hip.

Potter shifted from foot to foot looking everywhere in the room except where they stood.

Dumbledore walked over and squeezed Potter's shoulder. "Be careful Harry. Everything is changing."

Potter chewed on his lip. "I know."

Dumbledore turned to the group. "I believe it is time for us to depart."

Mrs. Weasley wrapped Potter in her arms. "Take care Harry."

He smiled as he squeezed back. "I will."

Mr. Weasley clapped him on the back.

Lupin turned and followed Mr. Weasley out of the room.

Potter sat on the couch, staring at Lupin's back. His hands shook.

He turned to follow them.

"Sn--Professor."

He turned back to Potter.

Potter wrapped his arms around himself and forced his green eyes to meet his. "I--I'm sorry. For, you know, attacking you."

Oh. How wonderful. He's sorry he attacked me. He held back a sigh. Then again his father wouldn't bother to do that much. "It's in the past."

Potter sniffed and glanced away. "And for everything else."

He's--what? "Everything else?"

Potter took a deep breath and turned back to him. "Everything I ever did or ever will do that was stupid, irresponsible, or disrespectful."

He's--he just-- He kept his head up. "That's quite the extensive apology. Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you're the only one that ever told me the truth. About my father. What he was really like." Potter stood, turned, and walked out the doors on the opposite side of the room.

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Leave feedback so I know if my writing is getting any better. Crosses fingers in hopes of reviews in her inbox.


	17. Months pass by and then you have Harry

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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Severus walked down the hallways that were crowded with students.

Biara stepped out of a classroom, greeting students on her way. "Severus. What are you doing here?" She guided him into an empty classroom.

He peered out the glass panel in the door. "There are a lot more people here then before."

Biara tapped her finger against the eraser sitting on the chalkboard. "Yes, well. The students arrived yesterday. It's so refreshing for the halls to be full again."

He turned and walked toward her. He leaned against a desk in the front row. "You haven't been in contact."

She tapped her fingernails and shook out her hair. "There was nothing to report."

And the subterfuge begins. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. I have neither the time nor the energy to do this today. "How about the arrangements for his return?"

Biara kept her gazed fixed on her hands. "Return?"

Coyness isn't going to help her now. "To Hogwarts."

Biara twisted her ring around her finger. "Yes. There are some complications with that."

Severus stood and glared at the back of her head as she moved toward the windows. Automobiles of every color were strewn along the road. Children were lugging covers, pillows, clothes, chairs, and all sorts of strange items into the buildings. It's chaos. And why would they have need of all of those things? Hogwarts students get by brining only what they can fit in their trunks. What is so different here? "What kind of complications?"

Biara leaned her forehead against the window, took a deep breath, turned, and met his eyes. "He doesn't want to go back."

Severus fixed his eyes on a middle distance to avoid her glare. "Well then I suppose it's a good thing that he doesn't have a choice." He smirked. I have won this round Biara. Give him up.

Biara dropped her head and pushed her hair back. "You can't force him to go back Severus.

He strode forward and stopped inches from her. "I can and I will. I have better things to so with my time then take some insolent schoolboy shopping for his school supplies. But that is what I have been instructed to do. You will tell him I will return tomorrow. We will buy his school supplies and put him on the train." He turned and walked out of the room.

"This sucks." Harry threw another dart. It stuck in the ceiling with the other four.

"Yep." Cali's head rested on his stomach, her fingers idly flipping through the pages of her potions text.

"They said I could choose where I wanted to be. The second I make a definitive choice, that I want to stay here, they yank everything away from me." A sixth dart joined the circle.

She ran her fingers down the ingredients for 'Invisibility in an instant' before flipping the page. "I think they'll regret it. They probably won't change their minds, but they'll either regret letting you stay here at all or making you leave."

The seventh dart completed the circle. "Why?"

Cali shut the book and let her arms fall into her lap. "Can you put this book on the table for me?"

The book lifted out of her hand and settled on the coffee table. "Are you going to answer the question?"

Cali smacked his chest. "Harry, your magic! No wand. Am I jogging your memory here?"

Harry chewed on his lip. "Oh."

She shook her head. "Yeah, plus your accent. It's faded almost entirely into an American accent."

He scowled. "Crap."

Cali laughed and stretched her arms back over her head. "Not to mention your new American vocabulary. Add to that the serious muscles you built up here, the glamour over your scar, and let's not forget the tattoo and the piercings."

Harry raised his eyebrow. "And what exactly are you implying?"

Cali stood and walked to the bookshelf, changing the CD. "I'm implying that you have become the stereotypical American muggle and Uncle Severus is going to have an aneurysm when he sees you."

Someone had given up and was dragging their stuff down the hall. "What did you say?"

Cali glanced back and then turned to fiddle with the CD player. "He's going to have an- -"

Harry took a deep breath. I'm wrong. She's talking about someone else. "UNCLE Severus?"

Cali lowered the CD case to the shelf. "Crap."

I did hear wrong. I had to have heard wrong. "Uncle?"

She turned around. Chewing on her lip. "You know, I managed not to say it all summer and then the night before you leave--"

"Uncle?" Harry stood.

Cali threw up her hands. "Yes Harry. Uncle. My mother's brother. Man I've only met when he came to get you."

Harry sat back down. She's scary when she's angry. "You've never really met him?" She can't know how horrible he is. She's never met him. So of course she would call him something so familiar. That's the normal thing. If she called him anything else it would mean that they are actually close.

"No." She crossed her arms over her chest.

Harry chewed on his thumb. That's how Snape knew about this place. Biara is his sister. Jeez. Biara is a Snape. He shook his head. How scary is that?

Cali bit her lip. "Does this mean you won't be my secret English lover anymore?"

Nothing's changed. I just know more now. She saw it. It was in my head and she saw it. How does it have to feel to see someone you're related to--Okay. I can do this. Everything is just how it was only now I have more information. Harry walked over and dropped his arms over her shoulders. "Well, you are related to the most horrible man I've ever met, but take a look at my uncle. And who knows, maybe it'll really piss _Uncle Severus_ off."

Cali giggled. She rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm going to miss you Harry."

The darts didn't look like they were moving, but he should probably remove them. The last thing he needed was for them to fall on someone. "Me too."

"We should probably reverse the glamour."

He pouted his lips and whined in his best little kid voice. "Do we have to do it now?"

She brushed her fingers over his forehead, smiling. "No, but before you leave. It would lead to questions you don't want to answer."

"Which I'll get enough of because of all the extra muggle and magical knowledge I have all of a sudden and the holes in my ear and my eyebrow."

Cali brushed his eyebrow ring. "But you do look so cute. I can't believe Mom actually screamed when she found out."

He smirked and rotated it through the hole. "Makes me kind of glad we didn't mention the tattoo."

She pushed up his sleeve and kissed the black symbols on his shoulder. "I made you something."

Presents! Harry smiled. "Really? What?"

She pulled the trunk out of the corner. She plopped down in front of it, unlocking it with the key around her neck. She opened the lid and pulled out a black case.

He slid to the floor next to her. He ran his fingers over the rough fabric. "What is it?"

She pushed it into his lap. "Open it!"

He undid the buckles and pulled it out. "A laptop?"

Cali shifted off her knees and slipped onto the green, fuzzy carpet. "It runs on magic. Plus, I put it together in the building so it's resistant to the effects of magic. It should work at Hogwarts." She shrugged. "It will depend on the level of magical interference which I couldn't calculate without being there. But I pumped it pretty high so it's probable that it will work. I also installed all your favorite programs on it. Plus--" She opened one of the pockets in the case, "a web cam. It hooks to the side of the screen. I hooked everything up to work across continents without Internet access."

"You knew they would make me go back to Hogwarts."

Cali crept over and pressed against his side, laying her head on his shoulder. "I was prepared for it." She opened another pocket and pulled out a jewelry box. "Plus this. I made two. Or charmed two as the case may be. If we're both wearing them we should be able to feel what the other is feeling. In diluted form of course, so it doesn't overwhelm us and drive both of us insane."

He took the box out of her hand and opened it. The silver cross reflected the light. "It's gorgeous. You're gorgeous." He kissed the top of her head. "I'm going to miss you so much."

She smiled as she locked the trunk and pushed it back into the corner. "Me too. Now I think for the sake of everyone's sanity we should go to bed. He'll be here in a few hours."

"They're going to wonder how I learned so much in so short a period of time. What am I supposed to tell them?" The darts wiggled free of the ceiling and dropped to the table.

Cali shrugged. "You could tell them how many laws you managed to break for improper use of a time turner. That should open the conversation right up." She smacked his chest. "You're lucky Dad decided you weren't in your right frame of mind. Though I'm sure if he hadn't he'd have found another way to get you out of it."

"People always manage to get me out of whatever mess I get myself into. It's getting kind of old." He pulled her into a hug. "Stay with me?"

She relaxed against his chest. "Always."

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Leave feedback so I know if my writing is getting any better. Crosses fingers in hopes of reviews in her inbox.


	18. Shopping time

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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Severus scowled at the children as they rushed out of the classroom laughing and pushing each other into the walls. They didn't even cringe as he glared at them. As the last child turned the corner he entered the room. "Is he ready?"

Biara continued erasing the board. "He's saying good bye to Morganna. They are in the lounge."

Severus rested his hands on her shoulders. "Biara, do not get so emotional. There is no choice here. He belongs at Hogwarts whether you and I like it or not."

She shook off his arms and whirled around. "Did you know he'd never had a birthday party before? He had never gotten a real present before he started at Hogwarts. That boy deserves a little happiness in his life Severus."

If he remains here for too long people will wonder where he is and begin to search for him. They'd find him eventually. The school would no longer be safe. "That is not my concern."

She turned toward the windows and set the eraser back on the chalkboard. "No. No it's not."

She walked to the door and he trailed behind her. The doors to the lounge were held open with piles of books piled in front of them.

Lila had her arms wrapped around his leg. "Harry I is gonna misses you."

Potter pulled her arms away and lifted her into his arms. "I'm gonna miss you too little sister. You be good for Cali, okay?"

Lila giggled and shook her head. "Momma!"

Potter dropped her to the ground and she ran over. His hair fell over an unmarked forehead, the silver skull glinting in his ear competing with the silver circle through his eyebrow. His black shirt showed a giant skull above the word Metallica. Their eyes met and Potter smirked. "Well hello."

"Harry be nice."

Potter looked over at Cali sprawled on the couch. "That was nice."

She rolled her eyes and tossed a candy wrapper at him. "Yeah sure."

He batted away the wrapper. "Whatever."

The scar was gone. A direct connection to the Dark Lord, erased by--

"Oops." Cali jumped up. "Your scar."

Potter squinted. "What?" He rubbed his forehead. "Oh. Whoops."

Cali brushed her fingers over his forehead and the lightening bolt shimmered back into existence.

Potter traced the lightening indent. "Because I really missed that fucking thing." He grabbed a black bag off the floor. "Can we get this over with?"

Merlin! What did they do to the boy? Severus cleared his throat. "Your trunk?"

He pulled the bag strap over his head and settled it on his shoulder. "It's in my bag."

Which one of the students here had he made friends with enough to perform a shrinking charm for him? And who did he expect to enlarge it for him? "And your owl?"

Hedwig flew in the doors and settled in the cage. He smirked. "Accounted for."

The boy did not smirk at him. The boy got angry and did something stupid or contained his emotion. Perhaps this wasn't as good an idea as it was meant to be. "Well then. Let us go."

Cali pulled Harry into a hug. "Forever and always."

He wrapped his arms around her and sighed. "Forever and always. I'll send letters by the gallon."

She pulled back and smiled. "I'll look for them."

He let go of one of her hands. "Bye."

She dropped his other hand and clenched it into a fist as she stepped back. "Bye."

Potter picked up the cage and crossed the room keeping his back to the two girls. He looped his free arm around Biara who pulled him close.

"Be well Harry. Don't do anything Ryan wouldn't do." She ruffled his hair as he moved away.

He grinned. "Does that mean I'm not allowed to walk and chew gum at the same time?"

Severus pulled out the portkey and shoved it into Potter's hand. With a tug they were gone.

The Leaky Cauldron looked the same. It was empty. Snape led Harry upstairs and he dropped his stuff in his room. Snape pulled an envelope out of his robes and handed it to Harry. "Let us get this done. Shall we?"

"Whatever." Harry headed toward the stairs.

"You are not going to change?" Snape's could convey disgust like no one else.

Harry leaned against the banister. "I wasn't planning on it."

"You are going to go into Diagon Alley wearing that?"

Harry kept his gaze on the stained steps. "Yes. And if you don't like it why don't you fuck off and let me shop by myself?" Yes. Let's just pull the tail of the bull at the first opportunity.

Snape grabbed him and slammed him into the wall. "Because I was assigned to protect you and I don't want a group of imbecile wizards breathing down my neck because you did something stupid."

The wood was weird. Knots in the wood looked like faces, moving and talking. The silver on the back of his ring was scuffed. "Yeah. OK. Fine." Yes. That was in fact a very stupid thing to do. Snape stepped back and Harry ran his hands through his hair. "And I'll even attempt not to act like a spoiled English brat." First on my to do list, remember to stop acting like I have a backbone and the knowledge to make use of it. He turned and walked down the stairs. Tom stood at the bar cleaning glasses. "Hi Tom."

Tom set the glass on the bar and picked up another. "Hello--Harry?"

Two people were seated at the far table drinking butterbeer. The other tables were cleaned and ready for customers. "Looks dead in here today."

Tom couldn't seem to stop blinking. "I--Yes--I suppose. Yes. Yes it is."

He walked into the alley behind the bar hiding his grin.

Snape's robes swirled around his legs as he stopped in front of the wall. "You almost stopped his heart. Are you planning on doing that to everyone you meet?"

Harry smirked. "I guess that depends on who I meet, doesn't it?" He looked at the brick wall. It felt ordinary. "What are the chances I can move this without a wand?"

Snape pushed him out of the way and touched his wand to the stones.

Harry shook his head. Actually I was serious, but whatever. He followed Snape as he stalked into Diagon Alley. It was magic, pure magic saturating the air just waiting to--

"Potter! Stop dawdling."

Harry's eyes snapped open. "Sorry." He headed toward Gringotts through the congested street. The shoppers seemed overly happy. He walked through the doors into the bank. The lines were huge. Harry broke the seal on the envelope Snape had handed him. It was his Hogwarts letter. "Wow. There's a shit load of stuff on this list."

You could almost hear Snape grinding his teeth. "That is because you have to choose which classes you are taking, remember? It should have been done weeks ago."

Oh. The top had instructions on picking classes and the different requirements. Harry scanned the list. The supplies were separated into classes. Not that one couldn't figure out that Dangerous and exciting beasts was for Care of Magical Creatures. "I never even got my O.W.L. results."

"How perceptive of you to notice now and not a month ago when you should have received them." Snape pulled out another letter.

Like I was supposed to care about O.W.L. scores when I didn't think I'd have to go back to Hogwarts. I was quite busy learning how to balance algebraic equations and the structure and function of the human brain. Harry broke the seal and pulled out the paper.

Transfiguration- E

Divination- P

Astronomy- A

Charms- O

Herbology- O

Care of Magical creatures- O

Defense Against the Dark Arts- O

Potions- O

Harry blinked. O's up the-- "Wow. That's--well expected."

Snape glanced at the results. "And what exactly is so expected? I would think you would be amazed to pass after years of doing the bare minimum of work."

Harry sighed. "It's expected that we'd get stuck with each other for another two years."

Snape pinched the bridge of his nose. "You despise potions. Why must you torture us both?"

"Well, because I need potions. Plus, I like potions." Harry shrugged. "With Chris at least. And if I'd stayed where I was I could have been amazing at potions. Here I may be able to pull off mediocre." He stuffed the letter back in its envelope. "Or I'll know enough to blow up the dungeon and hope that the next classroom will be warmer."

The goblin looked him up and down as Harry handed him the key. "This way."

Harry hopped out of the cart. "That really is too much fun."

The goblin opened the vault and they stepped in.

Snape gasped. "Merlin!"

Harry glanced back. Snape was scanning the vault. "No parents to spend it remember? In fifteen years it bought five years of school supplies. Not exactly strenuous on the bank account." He looked around and shrugged. "I should probably find out how much is in here at some point."

Snape sputtered. "You do not even know how much money you have?"

Harry laughed. "I'm not even of age. I knew I had money. Why would I care how much I had? So I could lord it over people?" He shook his head. People don't understand that I don't care that I have a vault full of gold. Its just money. I could probably make twice as much by writing the story of my life. Those morons would buy it in a second. He pulled a pouch out of his pocket and filled it. "I'm done. Let's go."

And we emerge from the tunnels and return to the light of--of something. Harry giggled in his head. Way too much sugar today. The bank lines were even longer. Harry pushed his way through the crowd and headed to Flourish and Blotts.

He scanned the books. Maybe he should get some extra books that looked fun to read.

Snape's shadow blacked out the page he was scanning. "You do know that every person in this store is staring at you?"

"You do know that you're blocking my light." The shadow didn't budge. He snapped the book shut. "And?"

Snape leaned down to his ear. "And the point is to not draw attention to yourself. Unless you are trying to get yourself killed."

Harry grabbed his last book for classes and another with a bright cover. "If we were in muggle London I'd blend in just fine." He moved into line to buy his books.

"Well you aren't."

He watched the woman in front of him pay for her books and move toward the door. He set his books on the counter. "I know."

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I believe it's happy reviewing time.


	19. Hogwarts express once again

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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Four hours of shopping later he was loaded down with packages. The Leaky Cauldron was filled to capacity. "Now there are people." Harry got a better grip on his packages and pushed his way through the room. He ran up the stairs and dropped everything on the bed. He threw the window open and took deep breaths.

"Potter?" Snape watched him warily from the doorway.

"Too many people. Way too many people." His breathing slowed down. "Sorry, I--I've become a little claustrophobic." He turned and leaned back against the window frame. I got lots of new stuff. Can I go back now? "So now what?"

Snape's eyes didn't shift from him. "Now we wait until tomorrow morning and you will board the train. I will send you class choices ahead so they can make your schedule."

If I don't have a schedule do I have to go back? "Thank you." He pulled his miniature trunk out of his bag. "I know we both had better things to do today, but I thought you should know that there were several stupid things I could have done that I didn't."

"For example?" And the sneer is back.

"Run into Nocturn Alley to buy something malevolent for Cali." That would have been fun. I would have loved to see her reaction.

Snape moved into the room and slammed the door behind him. "Why would you even think of doing that? It's like running straight into the dragon's la--"

"Exactly!" Harry crossed his arms over his chest. I guess it's a good thing I didn't try it. "Which is why I didn't do it."

Snape faltered in his warpath and shifted. "Yes. Well. Goodnight." He turned and opened the door.

Harry sighed. "Goodnight."

The door clicked shut. Harry set the trunk on the floor and watched it expand. He opened it and put everything he'd bought in. He shut the lid and watched it shrink. "Mind over matter." He expanded it once again and pushed it into the corner. Must stop playing. Magic is not a toy. He pulled off his shoes and jumped into bed.

"If I were a wizard, what would I wear?" Harry stared into his trunk. "Screw that." He pulled out his black cargo pants and a black panther shirt.

Someone is knocking on my door. "Ready yet Potter?"

Ready for what? He pulled the shirt over his head and slipped his glasses back on. "Yeah."

Snape opened the door. "Are you ready to go?"

Nice to know how you respect my privacy. Harry pulled the trunk out of the corner. "Yes. How are we getting there?"

"A magical cab I suppose." Snape's eyes narrowed. "How did you enlarge your trunk?"

Oh crap. I'm not supposed to do magic in the summer. "I asked Tom." He shrugged. Good enough I suppose. "Can we take the underground?"

"You--What?"

And we have distraction. "I want to take the underground." I'm not supposed to stand out. Blending in. Not getting myself killed. That'll work. "I'll blend in better on the underground with all the muggles."

Snape looked like he was racking his brain to contradict him. "I suppose--"

"Good. Is there any chance you could carry Hedwig's cage for me? I can carry the trunk but then I'm out of hands." Keep things moving. Never stop. Never give them a chance to get their sea legs.

Snape blinked then growled. "Yes. Of course. Why not?" He picked up the cage. "Do you even know how to get to the underground?"

"Yes." Let's hear it for underground maps being posted on the internet. He lifted the trunk and thundered down the stairs. The common room bustled with excited kids and nervous parents. He bumped the door with his hip and slipped out. He hummed as he maneuvered around London pedestrians.

"Mr. Potter will you please slow down." Snape was sneering at pedestrians left and right.

He froze and stopped himself from laughing. "Sorry."

"For a boy that did not desire to come here you are very excited." He pulled the door open.

Harry walked into the station. I have to prove that I'm okay. But if I act like I have for the past five years then they'll never take me seriously. They won't accept that I worked hard and learned all this new stuff. So I act like I have no problem with Snape and they see that's something changed. But I hate the greasy bastard. But he didn't actually do anything to hurt me. He's the reason I got to go to the Academy. All right. I'll pretend he's someone I've never met. Someone I may actually like. "I want to see if the laptop actually works at school." He set the trunk down and handed the teller the few pound notes in his pocket. If I mention it to him he won't think it's anything he should take away.

Snape watched the exchange of money. "Laptop?"

He took the tickets, handed them to Snape, and lifted his trunk again. "Cali did something to make a laptop work at school. It has all my favorite games on it. Plus it will link Cali and me. Video link so we can talk." Uh oh. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. If he wants to keep us apart he might try and take it.

"You two seem to have become very close." Snape handed the tickets to the man standing next to the broken turnstile.

That was--What was that supposed to mean? The right train was straight ahead. Harry stepped over the gap, dropped his trunk, and sank into a seat. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? How to answer? "Yeah. I guess." Must make this safer. "No matter who you spend time with you eventually end up with her." That should be safe enough.

Snape set Hedwig's cage on the trunk. "So what did you do there? Besides putting more holes in your head."

Harry laughed. Did he just make a joke? He asked a polite question. This is working a little too well. Perhaps I should shock him. "Yeah well, you haven't even seen the tattoo yet."

Snape sat next to him "You got a tattoo!"

Much better. Harry pushed up his sleeve.

Snape turned to look out at the stone walls speeding by. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "What is that?"

"It's the Chinese symbol for life." At least he didn't ask how I managed to get a tattoo underage without parental consent.

Snape scowled at someone gaping at his robes. "Why did you feel the need to get that permanently drawn on your arm?"

Harry narrowed his eyes and dropped his sleeve. He's one to talk. "Look at your arm and then try and ask me that again."

Snape glanced down at his arm and his lips pressed together. "Touché."

The brakes screeched and the train slowed. "Time to get off." He handed over Hedwig and lifted the trunk.

The station was busy as usual. Harry dropped his trunk onto a cart and set Hedwig on top. He pushed it through the muggles traveling with their families. A mother pushed her young son onto the train at platform nine. He broke through the barrier. A few people stood scattered over the platform. Harry lifted his trunk and climbed on the train. He pushed it onto the rack in the compartment farthest back. He bolted off the train and took a few deep breaths. This was going to suck.

"Claustrophobia?" Snape was back to smirking at him. It's nice to know that some things will never change.

"Yeah." He picked up Hedwig's cage, took it, and set it on the seat. He jumped back onto the platform. "I don't think I can so this. It's small and dark and there will be too many people." He slid down the wall.

"Potter--"

He messed up his hair. His eyes widened and he smoothed it down again. "Why can't I just transport myself there?"

Snape's eyes were on his hair. Damn. "You have to--what do you mean transport?"

Oops. I wasn't meant to tell anyone that. Cali wasn't supposed to teach me and I wasn't supposed to be able to do it. "Disappear from one place and appear somewhere else."

Snape scoffed. "You mean apparation?"

Let it go. Answer quickly and change the subject. "No. It's different. It involves other dimensions, pocket dimensions or something." He let his head fall back against the wall. "I think I'm okay. I'll just have to open the window and not get on the train until the very last minute."

Snape glanced at the family that stepped through the barrier. "I must be going. Dumbledore will be waiting for me to return."

Harry nodded. "You have fun with that. I promise not to do anything stupid until I get to school."

Snape slowed and nodded. "Well thank you for that at least. Don't throw yourself out of the window while the train is moving."

Joking again. This is getting weird. "I will attempt to do that. Or not do that as the case may be."

Snape was still standing there. "You will get off the train eventually."

I guess I didn't convince him that I'm fine. "I know, but thanks."

Snape nodded and walked down the platform and through the barrier.

Harry dropped his head back against the wall. I guess you can't disapparate from the platform. "And of course everything will be perfect once the train stops. Everything always goes perfectly for me at school." He pulled out his earrings and stuck them in his pocket.

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Leave feedback so I know if my writing is getting any better. Crosses fingers in hopes of reviews in her inbox.


	20. Lila?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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A hand rested on his arm. Harry jumped and the hand disappeared. Ginny bit her lip. "Are you okay Harry?"

He stood and ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah. Yeah I'm fine." The platform was congested. "Wow. I didn't notice all these people arriving." He backed toward the far side of the platform.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Ginny gabbed his arm.

He pushed her off. "I'm fine. I'm fine!" He backed into the corner and wrapped his fist around the cross.

_Breathe Harry. Don't go psycho on me now._

Harry smiled. _Sorry Cali. You sound sleepy. _

_It's 5:30 in the bloody morning. Yes. I was in fact asleep. _

_Sorry Cali. _

_No problem. I have to take a shower anyway. My hair is all hairspray filled. _

_I didn't think this thing was supposed to let us talk. _

_It wasn't. Where are you? _

_The train station. _

_So probably not a lot of magic around there, huh? _

_There are a lot of magical people here. _

_They could be feeding it. I don't know. My brain isn't working yet._

_I'll take the necklace off._

_No. Don't bother Harry. I'll just tone it down while I'm in the shower. So while I'm all calm you can feed off of that. Then I'm going to sleep, so try to keep calm._

_Bye Cali._

_Kisses._

"What's wrong Potter? Scared of the little children?" Malfoy smirked.

"Nope. Just your hair. It's a fire hazard. It should come with a warning." He stepped around him. Okay. That was kind of mean. Do I really want to spend the next year battling Malfoy over who can come up with the best comebacks? "Do you want to get on the train Ginny?"

"Mom wanted to see you before we left Harry." Ginny walked next to him.

"Okay. Where is she? Oh, I see her." He ran over and threw his arms around her. "Hello Mrs. Weasley."

She curled her arms around him and patted his back. She's nervous. "Harry! How are you feeling?"

He pulled back. Must make sure she doesn't worry about me. She has enough to think about. "I'm fine. I'm feeling much better. I've become a bit wary of enclosed spaces but it's not to bad considering before." Oops. I don't think that's going to help her worry any less.

She brushed the hair off his face. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes. They fixed me up just fine. I going to have to watch my speech patterns until they're back to normal, but that's just from spending too much time with the people there. We had so much fun." He couldn't stop the smile that filled his face. "We'd better get on the train. It's going to be leaving soon." He hugged her again. "Thanks for caring." Her eyes were tearing up. Time to give her an out. "Is this your trunk Ginny?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Yeah."

He picked it up and climbed the steps. He squeezed past the people lining the hall and finally made it to the end of the compartment. He set the trunk down and scratched Hedwig's head. Ginny closed the compartment door. "Ron was upset when Mom said you couldn't stay with us at all this summer."

Harry sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I couldn't. It was--stuff." He lowered himself to the seat.

Ginny pulled her lower lip into her mouth and sat next to him. "What happened to you this summer? You said you were claustrophobic." She shifted a little closer. "What did the Dursely's do to you?"

Great. She probably thinks I was locked up again. She'll never believe I'm fine if she thinks I was trapped in my room all summer. Harry stood and opened the window. The number of students left on the platform was minimal. "I wasn't at the Dursely's. I left after a week or so."

Ginny clapped her hand over her mouth. "What? Why? Dumbledore said you had to go back."

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. At this rate I won't be okay for long. "I did go back. Things were bad. I left. It's no big deal."

Ginny grabbed his arm and turned him toward her. "No big deal? You could have been killed."

Harry ripped his arm away. "I could be killed anywhere." Oh crap. I'm going to make her cry and she's going to think I have a death wish. He pushed her hair behind her ear. "Ginny please. Just drop this."

She turned away. Maybe that was a little too personal. "You aren't going to tell me where you were?"

Harry groaned. "I can't. I'm sorry. It would put them in danger. But it's okay. I was okay. I had fun. There were people my own age and lots of muggle fun."

Ginny twisted a strand of hair around her finger. "Okay."

Was that just too easy? "Okay?"

"Yes. I don't want to put anyone in danger. And you deserve to have fun for once." She dropped her arm to her side. "We'd better open the door so people can find somewhere to sit." She pushed the door open.

"Thank goodness. Is there room in here?" Neville dragged his trunk through the door.

Ginny smiled and sat where she'd been before. "Hi Neville. Yeah, it's just Harry and I right now."

He pushed his trunk onto the rack. "Thanks. There are so many first years running around. It's almost too crowded to do anything."

Harry pulled a book out of his bag and dropped into the seat next to Ginny. "Yeah."

Neville plopped down across from him. "What are you reading Harry?"

He turned the cover toward Neville. "It's Shakespeare. Hamlet."

"What's it about?"

How did Cali explain it to me? "Hamlet pretends to be crazy. He's horrible to the girl he likes. He kills a man by accident. Then he kills the man who killed his father and his mother later on." He smiled. I don't think I made any sense. "I've been told it's the parallel of my life, but I think she was joking. It was hard to tell sometimes. She warned me about the end. I'm not supposed to read it while by myself. I think Hamlet dies. It is the tragedy of Hamlet after all."

"Um, all right." Neville glanced at Ginny who shrugged.

They don't understand. Will anyone here be able to understand anything? Harry rubbed his temples. The pressure was building in his head again.

Ginny rested her hand on his arm. "Are you okay Harry?"

Why can't anyone believe that I'm okay? "I guess that depends on whether you're going to keep asking me that."

She jerked her hand back and slid across the seat toward the door. "Sorry."

He sighed. "Don't be. I'm being a prick. Stupid migraines." He pulled the purple makeup case out of his bag. Still not a funny joke Cali. He pulled a pill bottle out. He dumped four different colored pills in his mouth and downed half his bottle of water.

"What are those?" Neville lifted the bottle out of his hand.

He's a pureblood. He couldn't possibly understand the label. Don't yank the bottle back. That's suspicious. He gently took the bottle back and slipped it into the case. He dumped it back into his bag. It's all good. "They're just painkillers."

Why did Neville look so nervous? He picked at his fingers. "They aren't magical are they?"

Maybe the magical equivalent is dangerous and you can't buy them for yourself. "No. Totally muggle. I bought them when we went out for ice cream last week since I figured everything in the wizarding world would be too strong." That should make him feel better. "I've been getting wicked headaches since they reversed the spell, which is a long story I don't want to get into, and they think it screwed something up in my head. They have to find out what could have gone wrong so they can fix it."

Ginny chewed on her fingernail. "That's sounds bad. Why don't you sound worried."

Harry smiled. "She'll figure it out. She figured out what spell was on me, so I don't doubt that she can fix this. Plus, it gives her an excuse to visit."

"Who?" Neville grabbed Trevor as he jumped out of his cage.

He wrapped his hand around the cross. "My savior and the girl that introduced me to the wonders of the muggle world.

"Harry!" Hermione rushed into the compartment.

Harry dropped his book and flung his arms around her. "Hey Hermy. I missed you."

She pulled back, a huge smile on her face. "Me too. Ron was worried about you."

He released her and dropped back into the seat. Isn't everyone? "So I heard."

She sat next to him. "How was you summer? Were the Dursely's all right to you?"

"They were fine. My summer was fine. Everything's fine." He picked up the book.

She frowned at him and took the book out of his hand. "You're reading Hamlet? That's a dark play."

And I'm not allowed to read a dark play? Are you afraid I'll freak out again? "Have you read it?"

She handed it back. "Yes."

Harry slid closer, bouncing up and down. "Hamlet dies, doesn't he? I just know he does."

Hermione laughed. "Well yes. He dies at the end."

Harry clapped his hands. "I knew it! He dies miserable doesn't he? She thinks I'm going to die miserable. Something about a brain aneurysm and swift death. How does Hamlet die?" I'll get Cali. I'll figure out the connections faster than she said I could.

Hermione glanced toward Ginny and Neville. "Um--"

"Harry!" Ron flew in.

Normal time. Harry wrapped him in a hug. "Hey. How was you summer?"

He fell onto the seat next to Neville. "Dreadfully boring. I wish you could have come to visit. Bloody hell, an entire summer with the Dursely's."

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. I spent ten entire years with the Dursely's and no one was worried about me then. "Week."

Ron broke off whatever he was saying. "What?"

Harry set the book on the seat. This was not going to end well. "An entire week. I only spent a week at the Dursely's."

"You--what?" He jumped up. And here we have annoyed Ron. "Where were you the rest of the summer? What did you do?"

Let's ignore the where part and see if he forgets about it. "I studied, I made enough potions to last a lifetime, and I learned how to rebel like a proper teenager."

"How? What? Where?"

Harry chewed on his lip. Damn. There goes that idea. Well I can't say where but the name shouldn't hurt. "The Academy. They thought I'd be better off there. I probably would have killed myself if I'd have stayed at the Dursely's." Uh oh. That didn't help my case.

Hermione laid her hand on his arm. "What happened?"

And we have worrying. Damn. I was trying to avoid this. "It's not important. It was a spell. It's been reversed and it's over. I'm tired of talking about it. Sorry." He leaned against the wall next to the window as the train moved out of the station.

_You okay?_

_This is harder than I thought. I can't tell them what really happened to me this summer or where I was. I just told them the name though. Is that okay?_

_The name shouldn't make any difference. Now remember Harry. They are_ _your friends. You can tell them. Well you can't tell them most of what you learned because you're not supposed to know it, but you can tell them about the spell and such. They will stand by you. _

_How can you know that?_

_Because I've only known you for a few months and I would stand by you. I did stand by you. I'm standing by you right now. A spell Voldemort implanted in your head doesn't change who you are. _

_You sound like an after school special._

_Yes, and let's remember that a few months ago you didn't even know what an after school special was. You've grown as a person. You won't repeat the mistakes of last year. I believe it. You just have to believe it too. Now would you stop talking to yourself and let me go back to sleep?_

_Sorry. I don't mean to be such a bloody pain in the ass. _

_Don't be. This is why you have the necklace. And I see your native Englishness is coming back. giggles Night Harry._

_Night._

"Harry, can you hear me?" Hermione shook him.

"Sorry." He let go of the necklace.

"What is that? A cross?" She laid it in the palm of her hand. "It's beautiful. Where did you get it?"

He pulled back so it fell off her hand. Couldn't risk her accidentally connecting to Cali. "It was a going away present."

She looked into his eyes. "You didn't want to come back, did you?"

"Of course he wanted to come back! All his friends are here. This is his home." Ron's hands were curled into fists.

Harry walked over and wrapped his arm around Ron's shoulders. "Of course I wanted to come back. What would I do without my best friend?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "Yeah. We should probably patrol the cars. There seem to be a lot of unruly first years running around."

He smacked Ron on the back. "Okay. Have fun. I'll see you later."

Ron left. Hermione walked by. "Liar." The door shut.

Ginny curled her feet next to her on the seat. "She's right you know. You sure sounded like you wanted to stay wherever you were."

He dropped into the seat and pulled his feet up. "That's because I did want to stay. I wasn't given a choice in the matter. Snape came and I had to leave."

Ginny laughed. "They sent Snape to get you? Have they lost their minds?"

Harry shrugged. He did try everything he knew to help me. He gave up his privacy. I know more about him then most other people. "He's not so bad."

Ginny snorted then choked. "You're serious? I thought you hated him?"

"I did. I mean, I do. I just don't think he's as bad as I thought anymore."

Ginny shook her head. "Whatever you say."

Harry yawned, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

Ginny foot connected with his ribs. "Harry, the cart's here. Do you want anything?" Innocent grin my ass.

Harry squinted at the cart. Boxes of Bertie Botts and chocolate frogs were piled high. "No. I'm five by five."

Ginny giggled. "Um--You're what?"

Harry sighed. "I'm fine. I don't want anything."

Neville bought a bottle of pumpkin juice and the cart moved on.

Harry took the CD player out of his bag and slipped the earphones over his head. I just need to escape for a little while. He crossed his fingers and hit play. The first song started. Yes! He leaned back, closed his eyes, and listened to the first six songs of the RENT soundtrack before Ginny kicked his leg. "Ow. What was that for?" Since when was kicking him the answer to everything? And since when did Ginny kick him without even blushing?

Ginny smiled before breaking down into laughter. Even Neville was smiling. "We're going to be there soon. I thought you might want to change."

Harry stood and stretched his arms over his head. "Are you going to blush like crazy if I change my shirt in here?"

Ginny laughed. "Probably."

"Good." Harry pulled off his shirt and stuffed it in his bag. He took his school shirt out of his trunk and pulled it on. He glanced at her. "You aren't blushing. I'm almost disappointed."

Ginny fanned at her face melodramatically. "I'm just trying to figure out where all the muscles came from."

Harry laughed. "Vault, parallel bars, high bar, and floor."

Neville's eyes jumped between the two of them. "What?"

Harry pulled on his robe. "Cali and Michael were teaching me gymnastics."

Ginny stared at him. "I see." She sighed. "No, actually I don't see at all."

Harry ruffled her hair. "I'll show you sometime."

The train pulled to a stop. Harry picked up Hedwig's cage in one hand and draped his bag over his shoulder. He started up the path. The castle wasn't even visible from the station.

Someone pressed against his side. "It all seems quite exciting." Cali smirked as she smoothed the front of her Hogwarts robes.

Harry pulled her out of the stream of students heading for the carriages. "How did you get here? Wait. Stupid question. Let's try how much trouble are you going to get into for this one?"

Cali giggled. "None if I can find a few rare ingredients before I head home."

Harry shook his head. "How are you going to do that? Ask Uncle dearest?"

Cali bumped her hip against his. "I believe the point was to NOT get in trouble."

He inclined his head. "Point taken."

"Who's this Harry?" Ginny walked up with Neville, Ron, and Hermione following her.

Cali laughed. "No one special." She grimaced. "And I'm a no one who's about to get busted."

Snape grabbed her arm. "What do you think you are doing here?" What was Snape doing at the station? Making sure he hadn't throw himself off the train?

She put on her brightest smile. "Hello Severus. It is wonderful to see you again too."

He shook her arm. "You are supposed to be--"

She sighed and dropped the smile. "In another country and not following the boy who wouldn't pierce his tongue."

Harry pushed his hair out of his face. "But why would I want a piece of metal sticking through my tongue. I don't understand."

Snape threw a glare his way. "Mr. Potter be silent." He yanked Cali forward. "I do not know how you got here but you will return home immediately."

Cali folded her arms over her chest. "Fine." She took a step forward and disappeared.

Hermione gasped. "Where did she go?"

"All of you get into a carriage now." He pointed to the line of carriages and stalked off.

Harry hopped into the nearest carriage. The others climbed in behind him.

Ron turned to stare out the window. "Who was that?"

Harry sighed. "That was Cali."

Ron turned back. "Cali who?"

How do you explain Cali? "Just the girl I spent the summer with."

Neville whistled. "That's your new girlfriend?"

"No! No. Just--she's just a friend." Oh man. If Snape heard them he'd be dead. Harry smiled.

Ginny stopped scanning the platform. "A friend that knows Snape and can apparate."

"That wasn't apparating. There was no sound." Hermione hardly blinked as she looked at Harry.

"Then what was it? And how does she know Snape?" Ron plopped back into the seat as the carriage moved forward.

Harry shrugged. I can't be expected to know everything about her. These will just be things that I don't know about her. He leaned his head against the window. As the carriage turned around a corner the castle came into view. It looked dark and foreboding.

"Harry?" Ginny rested her hand on Harry's arm.

The pressure was back. His temples ached from the force of the blood pounding through the vessels and capillaries. "It's not safe here. Why are they putting me in the line of fire?"

Ginny glanced back. Hermione and Ron were laughing with Neville. "You really didn't want to come back."

Harry rubbed his temples. "I was safe there. I felt safe there. I had friends and I even liked sitting through potions class."

She rubbed his arm. "I'm sorry Harry."

"This isn't your fault Ginny. I got too used to being free to make my own choices and go where I wanted. I should have known it couldn't last."

Ginny squeezed his hand. "Harry?"

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Just watch me, okay?"

She kept one eye on Ron. "What?"

He dropped his arm. The last thing I need is Ron thinking I'm trying to put the moves on his sister. "I think I'm going to do something stupid. I feel it."

She dropped his hand as Ron glanced over. "Why?"

"I can do things now. I learned things this summer." Why did I tell her that? I'm not supposed to tell anyone that. He rubbed his forehead. "I just want to get through this feast and see if my laptop will work with all the magic." I need to talk to Cali. And I need another dose. My head is throbbing.

Ginny's head whipped toward him. "Laptop? What's a laptop?"

Harry smiled. "Come to my room tonight and you'll see."

She bit her lip but her lips still curled up at the corners. "My my Harry. That sounds quite suspicious."

He leaned in. "Well, that's because one of the things I learned this summer was the great art of flirting." She giggled again, pursing her lips when Ron looked over and narrowed his eyes.

The carriage stopped. Harry took Hedwig's cage and jumped out. He held out his hand and helped Ginny down. They walked up the steps. Hedwig's cage was put down with the luggage and the other animals. The Great Hall was bright as usual. The teachers at the head table were whispering to each other and glancing at him. Snape stared straight ahead, his arms crossed over his chest.

Ginny sat and pulled Harry down next to her. "Snape does not look happy. I wonder what's going on?"

The students filled the tables and the first years were filed down the center aisle. McGonagall pulled out the scroll and started calling names. There are so many first years. As she continued the group in the center dwindled.

"Recorn, Anna." A thin girl with a long blonde braid sat on the stool. The hat descended on her head. "Ravenclaw." She jumped down amid the applause and joined her table.

"Richardson, Lila." A small girl climbed onto the stool. She was at least a foot shorter than all the other first years. McGonagall held the hat so it didn't drop past her ears. Snape's jaw was clenched as he looked down at her.

"Slytherin." Lila hopped off the stool and walked over to the far table.

"Fuck." Harry dug his fingernails into his palms.

Ginny unclenched his fist. Ron and Hermione were sitting across the table. Their eyes were still locked on the first years. Ron was no doubt complaining that he was hungry. "Harry?"

He leaned closer. "They are going to crucify her. Why is she here?"

Ginny glanced around. "What? Who?"

"Lila. The first year that was just sorted into Slytherin. She's only six years old." Lila was laughing with another first year sitting next to her.

"Do you know her?" Ginny looked over at the Slytherin table. "If she's six then she shouldn't be able to control magic enough to be here. Plus, you know first years are all eleven. You must be wrong."

Harry shook his head. "That's Cali's little sister. That's probably why she risked coming here at all. She wouldn't come just to see me for no reason. She was trying to make sure Lila was safe. That's why Snape's so mad. He doesn't want her here."

Ginny glanced at Snape who was glaring at anyone that dared make eye contact with him. "Why? What could he have against a little girl?"

Lila looked like she was having a ball as another first year joined Slytherin. "He doesn't want to put her in danger."

Dumbledore stood. "Welcome everyone to another year at Hogwarts. This is a dangerous time we are living in and I expect everyone to take care. Do not wander the grounds alone. Everyone should be careful and watch out for one another. And as always the Forbidden Forest is in fact forbidden. Let us enjoy the feast." The plates filled with food and everyone dug in.

"Are you okay Harry?" Ron already had his mouth stuffed with potatoes.

Harry sighed and filled his plate. "Yeah." He looked at Ginny as Ron turned back to his food. "I guess they know what they're doing. I hope." Ginny turned to her food. Harry slipped the bottle out of his bag and shook five pills into his hand. He slipped the bottle back into the bag and tossed the pills into his mouth. He washed them down with his pumpkin juice and started eating as the pain receded.

---

We're almost to new story. Leave me a review.


	21. A new Ginny

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

--------

The feast lasted forever. Finally the prefects stood and motioned the first years toward the doors. Harry slipped out quickly and hid in the shadows. Draco walked by followed by the first years. Lila separated from the group and slid into the shadows. Harry knelt and hugged her. "What are you doing here Lila?"

"Momma wanted me to be safe. So here I am." She pulled the hem of her robes out from under her feet.

Harry pulled her deeper into the alcove as the Ravenclaws passed. "You were safer where you were and you always squirm when you lie. Why are you here Lila?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. But I got a wand!" She pulled it out of her pocket. "It's going to be so cool."

She's here to watch me. They sent a six-year-old to watch me. "Be careful here Lila."

Lila giggled and kissed his cheek. "I know. I've already seen lots of stuff to avoid. It will be okay." She glanced out into the entrance hall. "Oh! A boy with red hair will be mad if he finds you in bed with a girl with red hair. He'll punch you before he listens. Try not to act guilty." She ran off.

Harry sighed. "This is not going to be good." He ran his hands through his hair. "The laptop!" He ran up the stairs toward the tower. He met the group of Gryffindors at the Fat Lady.

Hermione was explaining the password. "The password for this week is Polonius." The portrait swung open and they piled in.

Harry stepped through last. "Brevity is the soul of wit." He skirted around the group of first years staring in awe at the common room and trudged up the stairs.

Seamus, Dean, and Neville were emptying their trunks.

Harry unlocked his trunk and opened the lid. He pulled the bag over his head and dropped it on the bed.

"How was you summer Harry?" Dean hung up the last of his clothes and flopped on his bed.

"Good." He pulled off his robe.

"Where did you get those pants?" Seamus closed his trunk.

Why is Seamus looking at my pants? "Hot Topic."

Seamus shut his trunk. "What?"

Harry shrugged. "A muggle store."

Ron slammed the door. "There are way too many first years."

Harry laughed. "Yes, well. You'd think parents would send their kids somewhere Voldemort didn't always try and attack." The four boys froze and stared at him. "What? Am I wrong? Voldemort wants me dead. He's going to keep attacking." Now they think I'm some kind of freak. No one understands. No one will ever understand. "Why are you all staring at me?"

Dean slid farther back on his bed. "Harry, you're glowing."

"I'm what?" His hands were giving off a blue glow. "Oh. Okay. You can look at me strangely then."

"What's happening?" Ron stepped forward.

"It's just a warning. A little overzealous if you ask me but it made Chris feel better." He pushed stuff around his trunk. He pulled the blue vial out of the potions storage container, pulled out the stopper, and downed it. The glow disappeared. "That's better. Sorry to freak you guys out. It's just a protection spell. I forgot to reverse it before I came."

Seamus closed his trunk. "Why would you want to reverse a protection spell?"

He tossed the empty vial on his bedside table. "It just alerts me to the fact that someone is plotting something against me. If I kept it on I'd be glowing constantly here even if it was only attuned to Malfoy."

"I've never seen a protection spell like that." Ron sat on his trunk.

Harry smiled and hopped onto his bed. "For the most part it was just an easy way to avoid people pulling pranks on you. Dad made it."

Neville's head whipped around from where he had been putting away clothes. "Your Dad?"

Yes. My dead father is making potions. Were they always this stupid? Was I this stupid? "Well no. Dad, yes. My dad, no. Mr. Richardson made it. He taught potions this summer since he's on vacation from work."

"Who the bloody hell is Mr. Richardson?" Ron's freaking out again. Does it kill him that I may have actually enjoyed my summer vacation for the first time in my life?

"The man I stayed with this summer. He's Cali's father. You met Cali at the station, remember?" His hand reached inside his bag.

"Whatever. I'm going down to the common room." Ron walked out followed by Seamus, Dean, and Neville.

The door shut and Harry ripped the necklace off and chucked it on the table. He clenched his hand into a fist to stop the shaking. Stupid pricks. He twisted the top off the pill bottle, tipped a few pills in his mouth, and swallowed them dry.

"Harry?" Ginny peeked around the door. "I saw everyone leave so I figured it was safe to come up. Are you okay?"

He relaxed his hand and shoved the bottle back into his bag. "Yeah. I'm okay."

She looked at the robes spilling over the edge of his trunk. "You haven't unpacked. Do you want some help?"

Harry smiled. "Sure. Thanks." He pulled out the drawer in the bedside table and started emptying his bag into it.

Ginny pulled clothes out of his trunk and hung them up. "So you have a lot of strange muggle clothes."

Harry laughed. He slid the pill bottle under his dream journal at the front of the drawer. "Cali took me shopping a few times. She said I had to stop dressing like a poor, fat, snotty little English boy."

"And start dressing like a what exactly?" She pulled something out of his trunk and blushed.

Harry grabbed the corset and tossed it into the bottom of his closet. His face felt hot. "We, uh, went to see Rocky Horror." Her face didn't lose any of its color. "Which means nothing to you but it's an explanation." He folded his arms across his chest. His left boot was scuffed. He should probably try and get that off.

Ginny coughed. "Is it safe to look in your trunk now?"

Harry coughed, leaned over, and pushed everything around. He pulled out a pair of black stilettos and fishnets and tossed them in his closet. "Should be safe now."

Ginny pulled out a pile of shirts and started to hang them up. "So you said you were going to show me something."

"I almost forgot." He jumped onto the bed on his knees and pulled the laptop out of his bag. He flipped the top up and pressed the power button.

Ginny glanced over from the wardrobe. "What does this do?"

"Well it can do a lot. You can play music, games, write assignments if you have a printer and don't have to do homework like you're living in the dark ages, and if you have an Internet connection you can find pretty much anything you need. For me it should let me talk to Cali since she fixed it so it would work in the presence of magic and without an Internet connection."

"I don't think I understand." She hung up the last shirt.

"Come here." He patted the bed next to him and she slid over. He clipped the web cam to the top of the screen and clicked on the icon in the middle of the desktop. A video window popped up filled with static.

"What is it?" Ginny leaned in.

Harry flopped banc against the pillows. "Not what it's supposed to be. Damn it."

"I'm sorry--"

"Harry!"

Harry shot up. "Cali!"

Cali's face backed away from the screen. "Don't do that to me!"

"Do what?"

"You took off your necklace. I thought you were dead." Her hands were shaking.

Harry grimaced. "Sorry. I--I needed some alone time."

"I see." Her eyes shifted to Ginny. "Hi. I'm Cali. We didn't have the chance to be formally introduced before the yelling started."

Ginny glanced at Harry. "I'm Ginny."

"Weasley right? Harry told me all about you." She smiled her evil grin. This is not going to turn out well. "You're going to watch out for my boy while he's at school right? He's a cute boy, but he needs hugs."

Harry sighed. Too bad you couldn't hit people when they were on a different continent. "Shut up Morganna."

Cali pouted. "You first."

Ginny giggled.

Harry smirked. "What are you laughing at?"

Cali whistled. "While I'd much enjoy continuing with this very mature argument, I have a potions practicum in ten minutes in west side and Dad's not talking to me."

Harry grimaced. "Your little stunt didn't go over well?"

Cali shrugged and glanced around her. "It was more the getting caught part he didn't like, but don't tell Mom that."

Harry laughed. "I'll talk to you later Cali."

She nodded. "You bet your cute little ass you will. It was nice to meet you Ginny."

"You too." Ginny looked shell shocked. Cali did take a little getting used to.

He hit the power button and the screen went black as Ginny threw herself on him.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ron slammed the door.

Ginny pulled her robe back over her shoulder. "Ron--"__

_ Lila_. Harry rested the urge to scream 'This isn't what it looks like.' "Hey Ron. Common room get boring?"

Ron shifted form foot to foot, looked between them, and took a step forward.

Harry sat up, pushed the top of the laptop closed, and pushed it to the end of the bed. "Apparently all the girls in my life have decided what I lack is hugs. I swear they are all insane."

"Hugs?" Ron played with his shirt.

Please let this work. I would like to survive this night. "I know. We were putting my stuff away, then we were talking to Cali, and she goes and tells Ginny to hug me."

Ginny coughed. "Well I think she was right. A hug can help anyone out." She yawned. "Well I'm off to bed." She kissed Ron on the cheek. "Night Ron." She's gotten a little too good at this.

"Night Ginny." Ron's eyes darted between her and him.

Ginny shot a grimace at Harry from behind Ron's back and closed the door behind her.

Ron wrapped his hand around the bedpost. "She was giving you a hug?"

Now we make anything else sound ridiculous. "Yeah. What did you think was going on?" If I were back at the Academy stupid human contact like that wouldn't have made anyone even bat an eye. I guess my hug quotient for the year has dropped.

Ron wouldn't even look at him. That's a good start. If he were going to kill me he'd probably be looking right at me. "I--I wasn't sure. She had that crush on you and--and Cho's out of the picture--"

"And she's your sister Ron. Which means she might as well be my sister." He moved off the bed and threw his arm around Ron's shoulder. Of course I doubt I'd flirt with my sister, but she's the only one I'd feel comfortable doing it around since I know she's over me even if Ron hasn't figured it out yet. "Who you should be worrying about is every OTHER guy at Hogwarts. Ginny isn't a little kid anymore."

Ron sighed. "Well why can't she be a little kid? It was so much easier."

Harry shrugged and pushed his bag toward the middle of his bed.

"Harry, what's this?" Ron grabbed Cali's purple makeup bag off the floor as it dropped out of his bag.

His father could have told him about muggle drugs. "Don't touch that!" Harry lunged for it and Ron jumped back and sent the bag flying. The broken zipper opened and seventeen pill bottles rolled across the floor.

Harry clenched his fists and stopped the magic before he sent the bottles flying back into the bag. He ran over and stuffed them back inside.

"Harry, what are all of those?" Ron looked nervous. Damn. His father had probably told him about them. No!

"Nothing. They're nothing." He shoved the bag into the drawer.

"Then why don't you want me to see them exactly?" Ron's face was red and his hands were clenched. "What aren't you telling us Harry? What happened this summer?"

I'm fine. The pills are to make sure I stay fine. Why won't anyone leave me alone? Harry sighed, pulled the bag back out of the drawer, and tossed the pills onto the bed. "Fine. Look."

Ron stared at him and slowly picked up a bottle. "Venalfaxine, valium, amoxcillin, what are these?"

Harry ran his hands through his hair and plopped onto the bed. They are bottles that fill the only bottle of pills I ever take anything from. "The first one is an antidepressant, the second one calms you down to deal with stress, and the third is just an antibiotic for my bronchitis."

Ron's face turned whiter. "And the rest?"

He's never going to believe I'm okay if he thinks I need these drugs. He's a wizard. He won't believe that these pills won't make you better and that you have to keep taking them. "More of the same. There are a few anti psychotics in there. I think two of the bottles are filled with candy." He understands candy. If I'd keep candy in with the pills then the pills themselves can't be such a big deal, right?

Ron sat down next to him. "Harry, I have no idea about muggle medicine, but even I know this probably isn't a good thing."

No idea about--score! "It is a good thing, kind of. I got most of them to deal with the aftereffects of the spell." I have to do something to ensure he doesn't tell anyone. " I haven't taken any of them in weeks. I kept them in case something happened and I needed them again." Okay. That's not exactly a lie. I haven't eaten any of the candy in a few weeks. He didn't ask which ones I was taking.

He handed the bag back to Harry. "You're sure that you're okay?"

The next person that asks that is going to get the crap beaten out of them. "I'm fine Ron, really. Thanks for worrying though, it means a lot to me."

"It does?" Why does he look so surprised? It's better then him not caring if I'm okay.

Though in this situation I'd prefer that he stopped caring and left me alone. "Yes."

"Then maybe you are crazy." He laughed and patted Harry on the back. "I am going to bed. Those first years have way too much energy."

'Maybe you are crazy.' Cali would never have said that. "Goodnight Ron."

"Night Harry." Ron changed and pulled the curtains closed around his bed. Dean, Neville, and Seamus came in and did the same. They were all snoring half an hour later.

Harry took the candles out of his trunk and slipped out the door. The bathroom was dark. He set out the candles in a circle and sat in the center. The walls themselves fluctuated with magic. "Lumos." The candles flared up and settled into small flames. The magic coursed through his veins. The light flickered on the walls. The candles went dark. He sat back on his hands. "This is going to be a long year." His vision went white and the room started jerking sideways. He took the pill bottle out of his pocket and swallowed a few. His vision cleared and the floor settled back down.

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We're almost to new story. Leave me a review.


	22. Happy potions doesn't mean a good day

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

--------

The Great Hall was filled with anxious students waiting for their classes to start and comparing schedules.

Ron was ecstatic. "No potions. None at all. Not all year."

"We get it Ron." Ginny smacked the back of his head. "You can stop now."

"Ow. Back off Ginny." He rubbed the back of his head. "I was only commenting on my schedule. I bet that Harry agrees that it's bloody brilliant not having potions this year."

Harry sighed. The pills were wearing off already. "I do have potions."

Ron chocked on his piece of toast. "What?!"

Was I being unclear? Did I stutter? "I'm taking potions. It's my first class."

Ron couldn't seem to control his mouth that decided what it really wanted to be was a fish. "Why?"

Why can't they all leave me alone? He slammed his fist on the table. "Because I need it!" Hermione jumped and he sighed and laid his hand flat on the table. "Plus, I like potions."

Ron's eyes jumped from his hand to his face. "No you don't. You hate potions."

Do I have to spell everything out? Why can't he just accept that some things change? "I hated potions class, not the subject."

"That doesn't make any sense."

Harry rubbed his forehead. This day was never going to end. He wiped the sweat off on his robe. "It doesn't matter. I need to take it and I don't think it's so bad anymore."

Ron went back to eating like it didn't matter anymore. "Mate, I think you need to be taking some of those drugs in your room. You sound psychotic to me."

Hermione dropped her fork. It clattered against the plate and everyone's head swung toward her. She stared at the two of them until everyone turned away. "What drugs?"

Harry chucked his fork at his plate. He missed and it thudded dully against the wood. "You couldn't keep your bloody mouth shut, could you?"

"What are you yelling at me for? You're the one who has been lying to us since you saw us on the train." People were starting to turn back.

Hermione pushed Ron back onto the bench. "Guys, stop it! Harry, what's going on?"

Hermione's hair brightened by shades until it was white. He blinked until it went back to normal. "Nothing."

Hermione scanned him and frowned. "What drugs Harry?"

He grabbed his fork and speared a sausage. "Heroine, cocaine, LSD, you name it. If Ron had kept his bloody mouth shut--"

Hermione blinked then took a deep breath and bit into her toast. "You know, I almost believed you for a second."

The sausage oozed grease from the holes the fork made in it flowing down the plate toward the eggs that smelled like they'd spent a week in the fridge with spoiled milk. Harry pushed his plate back. "What gave me away?"

She shrugged. "No shaking, sweating, or bloodshot eyes. Your acting was flawless though. Do me a favor?"

He dug his fingers into the back of his neck. "What?"

She leaned across the table and smacked his arm. "Don't do that again. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Harry smiled. "Sorry. I promise not to do it again." He held up three fingers. "Scout's honor."

Hermione coughed and gulped half her glass of water. "Scout's? Well that explains a lot. Well, your attitude at least." She set her glass back down. "So the drugs, let me guess, Valium?"

Does she know everything? "How did you--"

"--know that you went through a lot last year? Plus, I kind of have a bottle of my own at home." She grimaced and shrugged.

Little miss perfect has happy pills? "What?"

She waved her arm around. "I refused to take them. Dad wanted them around just in case."

Just in case. Just in case you break again. Just in case you attack another professor. "I hate that phrase. Just in case. Why don't they just say what they mean? We know you're going to have a nervous breakdown so we don't want to be far from a way of drugging you into oblivion." His fingernails scored the skin of his neck. He jerked his fingers away, the marks stinging.

Hermione set her fork down slowly. "That's a little strong."

Great. She's looking worried again. Am I going to have to spend all my time lying to reassure people I'm fine? Harry smiled. "I've been told that overreacting makes things sound more fun."

Hermione shook her head. "You are a strange one Harry Potter."

And it almost feels like home. "Yes." He set his bent elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands. "But that's why you love me."

"Ow." Lila lay on the ground.

Harry took her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"Thank you Jamie," she whispered and hurried away.

He put his hands under the table and unfolded the paper she had left in his hand.

Jamie,

Be careful in potions today. A blond boy, I think his name is Draco, will say something that makes you angry and you will make you potion explode. Cali said to warn you about Wicca magic stuffs like that. Hugs and kisses.

- Little Morgie

"Everything okay Harry?" Hermione swung her bag onto her back.

He picked up his bag and shoved the paper in the front pocket. "Yep. We'd better get going to potions. I'll see you later Ron."

He slumped in his seat and pushed his plate back. "Yeah. Later."

The dungeons were cold as usual. He sat next to Hermione in the front row.

Malfoy sat between Crabbe and Goyle opposite them snickering.

Snape walked in and everyone shut up. "This class is not for the weak-hearted. I expect you to do the work and to do it well. I will not accept any slacking off. Let us begin." He waved his wand at the chalkboard. "You have forty minutes to complete this potion."

Harry tilted his head. That potion looked familiar. Oh. It was a basic healing potion. Harry read through the directions, chopped ingredients, and started the healing potion base.

"I don't know how you would get into this class after taking remedial potions last year." Malfoy dropped dandelion root into his cauldron. "Dumbledore probably forced his way into the class."

Harry took a deep breath. There is no need to freak out. You weren't in remedial potions. You made it into the class because you're good at potions. Everything is okay. He dropped two newt eyes into the cauldron.

Snape sneered at him. "Mr. Potter. Was there anything in the directions on the board that told you to add newt eyes?"

Malfoy and his cohorts were laughing.

Harry blinked. Shit. He'd screwed it up. Malfoy was right. He shouldn't be in the class. He shouldn't even--wait. "No, but the newt eyes will cause the potion to heat up quicker and allow the potion to cook longer before adding the final ingredient. That will make the healing potion about seven times stronger."

Snape crossed his arms over his chest. "Who said this was a healing potion?"

Malfoy sneered at him from behind Snape's back and laughed.

Snape didn't even turn. "Quiet Mr. Malfoy. Well Mr. Potter?" He wasn't sneering or glaring. Just looking at him. It was just a question.

Harry took a deep breath. Just don't look at his eyes and everything will be fine. "It's the basic formula for a healing potion. Adding different sets of ingredients will adapt the potion for age, species, and medical ailment. If you add mold you get a crude approximation of penicillin which unfortunately taste like grape for some unknown reason." He dropped the fourth ingredient in.

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Very good Mr. Potter. I suppose it was inevitable that you'd eventually get something right." He turned and walked by the Slytherins. "Mr. Malfoy, I see very little chance that you will manage to save this potion."

Malfoy glared at Harry as he adjusted the heat and dropped ingredients in.

Hermione scooted her chair over. "How did you know all that?"

Harry shrugged. Was this one of the things I'm not supposed to tell anyone? I suppose if I keep it at the theory level it will be okay. "History of Potion making and basic chemistry. You wouldn't believe the kind of stuff I learned to make."

Hermione stifled her smile and leaned over her cauldron as Snape looked over. "Like what?"

Harry stifled a laugh and leaned closer. "We made a gender bender potion. It changes your sex for three hours."

Hermione gaped and dropped something into her cauldron. "Did you take it?"

"No." Harry bit his lip. "We slipped it to Cali's dad just before potions class."

Hermione's eyes widened. "That's horrible. How angry was he?"

Harry shook his head. "Not a bit. It was great. He put on a dress and congratulated us on our potion making. I love him."

Hermione moved back over and started chopping. "I can't believe you would do that. Especially to someone you like."

"It was all in fun. It's not like we did it to embarrass or humiliate him." He leaned to her ear. "Though I will admit that I've become a little to American for my own good."

Hermione glanced around. Dean was chopping nervously behind them. Snape went on and on about Gryffindor stupidity as he stalked around the back of the room. "So you were in America this summer?"

Answer quickly because if Snape hears the answer or even the question he'll kill you. "Yeah." I'm going to get someone killed. Shit. Why didn't I just say I couldn't tell her? Why can't I ever keep my mouth shut?

Her eyes were glittering with excitement. She'll never let it go if I tell her I don't know. She'll just bug me for information forever and search in every book she can get her hands on. "Where?"

Harry shrugged. Snape's desk jerked to the side before settling back to its normal place. "It doesn't really matter. It's a secret anyway. The school is hidden in plain sight so they don't like people knowing how to find them."

Hermione pulled herself back to the middle of her seat. "Oh." She dropped in the last ingredient. "What did you learn? Besides potions and chemistry I mean."

Harry stopped his eyes from trying to blink to clear the white light slowing creeping inward. "Biology, physics, a lot of history, and magic theory." It's great if she thinks all I did was work, but if she tells Ron that I'll never hear the end of it. "Plus, I watched movies, listened to music, and read an insane amount of Shakespeare."

Hermione stirred seven times counterclockwise. "What do you mean magic theory?"

The potion turned green and he added the powdered bark. "Instead of learning spells you learn how and why the spells work. That way, in theory, you can create you own spells based on the core formula."

She nodded and wrinkled her forehead. "That sounds interesting. I probably wouldn't have wanted to come back either."

Harry sighed. "You know I love you guys, and I love Hogwarts. But it was the people that made me want to stay there. No one knew who Harry Potter was and no one cared. It was nice."

Snape's robes billowed, nearly filling the aisle as he returned to the front of the room. "Fill a bottle with your potion and bring it to my desk."

Harry filled his bottle and put it near the center of Snape's desk where Malfoy couldn't knock it off. He pulled a bunch of bottles out of his bag and emptied the rest of his potion into them.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione waved her wand and the rest of her potion disappeared.

I suppose telling her I can use them as a base for other potions would only make her want to know what potions I was planning on making. That won't help anything. "I'll send them to Mom so she won't have to make more. I kind of decimated her supply of healing potions this summer." Oops. That would make her worry. Damage control. "She'd rather be making pies then potions. Who knows? Maybe she'll send me a pie in exchange. I love pie." He put the bottles in his bag. "Where are we off to next?"

Hermione looked nervous but she nodded and didn't ask him if he was okay. "Transfiguration."

"Let's go then." Harry took her hand and pulled her out of the dungeon.

There were few Slytherins in the room. "Ron! Hey, how was your first class?" He sat next to him in the first row.

Ron shrugged. "It was fine. It doesn't seem like classes will be as bad as last year."

"Yeah." Harry stuck his arm up to his shoulder into his bag.

Ron laughed. "What are you looking for Harry?"

Harry frowned. "My wand. It should be in here somewhere." Last year I never would have let it out of my sight. I should keep it closer. That way I won't be as tempted to do wand less magic. He pulled it out. "Here it is." He dropped it on top of his books.

McGonagall waked in. "Welcome everyone. I know you're all probably a little rusty, so let's start with some review from last year." She demonstrated the invisibility charm and then passed out mice to practice on.

Hermione made the mouse invisible on the first try. It took Ron three. Harry looked at his little white mouse and tried a fifth time. He could feel the magic everywhere, but he couldn't make the wand work.

Hermione and Ron's turtles were belching steam from blue and pink porcelain spouts respectively.

McGonagall clapped her hands. ""All right. That's very good. I'm glad you remember what you've learned. I'll see all of you next class." They started chattering like chipmunks as they threw books into their bags. "Mr. Potter, I'd like to see you for a moment please."

Hermione and Ron returned their turtles and looked at Harry.

Oh look. The poor Harry look. I really missed that. "You guys go. I'll meet you in the great hall."

"Are you sure?" Ron lingered in the doorway.

Harry picked up his white mouse and petted its head. "I'm sure."

McGonagall closed the door behind Ron. "Mr. Potter, your performance today--"

"Was pathetic." He set the mouse down in the box. "I couldn't channel the magic through my wand."

"Do you believe there's something wrong with your wand?" McGonagall looked worried. Why? It's not like this wand will do me much good against Voldemort anyway. We can't even cast spells at each other.

It's me. I can't channel the internal magic. I'm not used to it anymore. "No. My wand is fine."

She nodded and her frown relaxed as much as it ever did. "Mr. Potter, whatever help you need I am here to offer." I don't think I've ever seen McGonagall play with the edges of her robe. "However, if this problem continues I'm afraid I will have no choice but to ask you to leave the class."

Oh. That's why she's nervous. Wouldn't want to kick the wizarding world's precious golden boy out of class. How would he manage to turn an animal into a goblet for Voldemort then? Harry sniffed and picked up his bag. "You really want to help?" He waved his hand over the box of mice and they disappeared. He waved his hand again and they reappeared. "Tell me why I should bother with a wand." He shut the door behind him.

"What did she say?" Ron's plate was already half empty.

Harry dropped his bag and sipped at his juice to swallow the pills under his tongue. "That if I keep sucking she'll kick me out of her class."

Ron looked horrified. "What was the problem? You could do the spells last year. You're probably just out of practice."

Thanks Ron. That's very helpful. "Yeah." He moved the cross back and forth on the chain. He dropped it back to his chest. "Oh, no fucking way."

Hermione smacked his arm. "Harry, language."

He yanked the necklace off, dropped it on the table, and pulled out his wand. The plate disappeared and left the food seemingly suspended in air.

Ron patted his shoulder. "See mate. I told you all you needed was practice."

Hermione picked up the necklace. "What is this?"

Well now she knows it's not just a necklace. You'd think I'd be better at all this secret stuff by now. I mean no one knows the whole truth about the Dursely's. "An open magical connection feeding off my internal reserves. So I couldn't cast the spell because the magic was being redirected and probably sending spikes of magic through the link."

Hermione frowned. Oh please let Cali have the other one toned down far enough that she couldn't feel anything. "That girl, Cali, has the other one doesn't she?"

"Yes."

She held it by the base of the cross and turned it around. "I didn't think anything like this was possible."

Harry squeezed his fingers around his leg. "A lot of things become possible when Cali is involved. She spent three years trying to figure out how to make muggle appliances work in magical environments without electricity."

Her head whipped back to him. "Did she manage it? I tried and couldn't get anything to work for even a second."

"Yeah, but it involves rebuilding them entirely inside a magical environment. It's very time consuming. It gives her something to do when she's not in class." He rubbed his temples. "I--I need the necklace back."

"What? But if it's interfering with your magic then why would you wear it?" She gestured toward the doors. "You won't be able to do the spells in Charms later."

Harry lunged and grabbed the necklace out of her hand. He clutched it in his fist.

Hermione's eyes were wide. "Harry?"

"I just need a--I just--I'm fine. I'm fine." He clasped the necklace around his neck. "We should go before we're late for class."

Hermione bit her lip. "Harry, you didn't eat anything."

"I'm not hungry. Let's go." He grabbed his bag and headed for the doors. They scrambled to grab their stuff and follow him. He sprinted across the lawn. "Hi Hagrid!"

"Harry!" Hagrid pulled him into a hug. "How are you?"

Hug expectance for the year raised. "I'm good. How are you?"

"Well I am just fine. Did you decide to continue with Care of Magical Creatures?"

"You bet your ass I did. I read all these books this summer about some of the most rare animals in the world. It was fascinating. Have you ever seen a panda bear? They're totally non magical, but there are only like one thousand left and they only live in China."

"I see." Hagrid scratched his head.

"What are we doing today?" Harry wrapped the cross in his fist, bouncing on his toes. He pulled a caramelo bar out of his pocket, dropping the cross. "Why are they here?"

"What?" Hagrid looked around and turned toward the forest. "Hello. Can I help you?"

Four centaurs stood at the edge of the trees. Harry ran over and stood in front of them. He smiled and held out his arm. "Chocolate?"

The largest centaur stepped forward and rested his hand on Harry's head.

"Harry, I think you should step back." Hagrid stepped forward.

The centaur narrowed his eyes. "I will not hurt him. I think he is the one that will hurt you."

"That's ridiculous. Come on Harry. It's time for class." Hagrid's fist was clenched.

The students were huddled together behind Hagrid.

The centaur's eyes were green. He brushed the hair off his scar. "The ripples are affecting everything in the forest. The unstable power is causing the creatures to flee the safety of the forest. The balance must be restored." His hand dropped to the necklace.

Harry leapt backwards and whipped out his wand. "Stay the fuck away from me. Balance my ass." He stuffed his wand in his pocket, clenched the cross in his hand, and stalked up to the centaur with his teeth clenched. "I am fine and happy and this is my necklace. I have had enough with people screwing with me. If you don't like my power you can screw off." He spun around and stalked back to everyone else.

Hagrid put a hand on his shoulder and pulled Harry behind his back. "Are you okay Harry?"

He dropped the cross and took a deep breath. Stupid horses. "Yes. I'm fine."

The centaurs turned and galloped into the forest.

Hagrid pushed him toward the others. "All right everyone. Let's start class. Today we're going to look at some interesting creatures."

Harry hooked his necklace as the students filed out of Charms.

Professor Flitwick hopped down from his stool. "That was some very impressive work today Mr. Potter."

I can do everything anyone else can do and more. I'm so far ahead of this that it's like child's play. "Thank you."

He drifted through the halls toward the tower. Not many students were wandering the halls today.

Hermione pulled him away from the Fat Lady and into a closet.

"Why Hermione, I had no idea you felt this way about me."

"Lumos."

"And Ron. I'm flattered, really I am."

Ron snorted. "What happened today Harry?"

Harry squinted. "What do you mean?"

Ron's eyes widened and he laughed. "What do I--the centaurs Harry. What did they say to you?"

Harry scratched his forehead. That? He was worried about that? That was forever ago. "It was nothing."

Hermione pushed her hair behind her ear. "Centaurs don't leave the forest for nothing Harry."

"Well then maybe I don't want to talk about it." He pushed them out of the way and ran from the tower. He slowed down and kept walking. The dungeons were cold. Drafts blew down the corridors. The door to the potions classroom was open a crack. Harry knocked.

"Come in if you must."

Harry pushed the door closed behind him.

"Do you need something Mr. Potter?"

He glanced around the room. Why had he even come down here? "I--I want to try and learn occulmency again."

Snape laid his quill on his desk. "Why? You didn't have much desire to master it last year."

Harry followed a crack in the stone floor. "I killed him."

"What?"

He clenched his hands on the edge of a table. "I'm a snotty English brat who thinks he knows better than everyone around me. I didn't want to listen and a man is dead. I don't want to kill anyone else."

Snape stood and moved around the desk. "While I am loathe to disagree with the first half of what you said, you did not kill Sirius Black."

His hands were shaking. "He wouldn't have been there if it weren't for me. If I had just stopped the dreams he would still be alive."

"You cannot know that." Snape wasn't even mocking him anymore. How sad did you have to be for that to happen?

He squeezed the table harder. "But I do. I feel it. I just want to make sure I can't hurt anyone else." He pushed away from the table. "If you won't help me I'll find another way to keep everyone safe." He opened the door.

"I'll meet you in my office after dinner."

Harry rested his forehead against the door. "Thank you." He closed the door behind him. He walked through the corridors and passed the stairs leading to the tower. Since when am I not afraid of Snape? The front doors were open. He shrugged and skipped down the steps and sat under the tree where his father had played with the snitch. He pulled out his books and started writing his essays. An hour later he shoved the books into his bag and pulled out his history book and highlighter. He rested the book on his bent knees and highlighted the title of the chapter. 'Etruscan religious rites.'

"Harry?"

He highlighted the last line and closed the book. "Hey Hermione. I'm sorry about before. I--I'm a little claustrophobic. I overreacted."

She leaned against the tree. "You missed dinner."

Was that random or not? "I'm not--dinner's over?"

Hermione slid down beside him. "Yes."

"Fuck." He grabbed his bag and shoved his bag into it. "I'm late." He jumped up and slung the bag over his shoulder.

Hermione stood and grabbed his arm. "Late for what?"

"I have to meet Snape. I'll talk to you later." He pulled away and bolted over the lawn and down the stairs to the dungeon. He pushed through the door.

"You're late Potter." Snape set down his quill dripping with red ink.

Harry dropped his bag by the wall. "Sorry. I got caught up in Etruscan religious rites and lost track of the time."

"What?" Harry smothered a laugh. He'd managed to confuse Snape.

Oh no. Do I really have to explain it? I don't think I'll confuse anyone anymore. He shrugged. "History work. I figured I had to learn muggle stuff in case I ever want to run from the magic world."

Snape stood and walked toward the wall. "Why would you do that?"

Oh, more questions with answers they don't want to hear. Goody. "Why--never mind. It's not important. Can we start?"

Snape looked him up and down. "Do you remember what to do?"

"Yes." Harry lifted his wand. "Oh. Wait." He unhooked the necklace and tossed it into his bag. "Okay."

"Legilimens!"

Uncle Vernon grabbed his arm and pushed him into the cupboard. "Stay in there boy!"

"No, please. It's dark." The spider bite on his cheek throbbed. "There are spiders. Please, don't make me go back in there."

Uncle Vernon slammed the door. His voice came through the vent. "Stop your whining. No one cares boy." He slammed the grate shut.

His knees slammed into the stone. "Damn it!" He slammed his fists against the ground. He pushed himself up. "Again."

Snape shook his head. "Mr. Potter--"

"I can do this!" His head was throbbing.

He lowered his wand. "You have to calm down. Release all your emotions."

The potions on the shelves pulsed with magic. It flowed out into the air and through the walls.

"Legilimens!"

The fingers trailed up his back.

"No!" The power exploded from his mind.

Snape flew backward and slammed into the wall.

Harry fumbled with the doorknob.

"Potter!" Snape froze, arm outstretched. His eyes darted around.

Harry wrenched the door open and ran. He caught himself on his hands but smashed his knee against the stair.

"Harry?" Hagrid towered over the assembled professors in the main hall.

Dumbledore stepped forward revealing Fudge and two aurors. "Harry--"

"Mr. Potter you would think that after all this time you wouldn't find it so hard to follow the rules." Fudge moved forward at the same pace as his guards.

"Harry are you all right?" McGonagall uncrossed her arms.

Fudge tugged on his pants. "Of course he's not. He knows he's guilty."

They were blocking the doors. "Guilty of what?" The tremors shook his arms.

Fudge smiled. His breath stunk up the air. There wasn't enough air. "Mr. Potter, Harry, let's not play these childish games."

They were all moving closer. "I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about."

"Don't play stupid Harry." Fudge pulled a silver cross out of his robes. "We've already confiscated your little friend's half of this. I don't know how the two of you got involved in this together but it's disgraceful. Did you think you could simply use unregistered magical objects like this? Or don't the laws apply to the Boy Who Lived?"

The necklace was in his bag. They couldn't take it. He needed it. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That's enough Mr. Potter. Hand over the necklace or we will take it by force." Fudge motioned the aurors forward.

They'll find out where I was. He'll tell Lucius Malfoy. They'll all die. They'll all be killed because of me. "I don't have any necklace."

McGonagall stepped forward and blocked the men. "I told you that I never saw him wearing a necklace."

Fudge's face flushed. "He must have it. It's a two way connection."

Dumbledore gestured her back. "As I said before I don't know why you think Harry has the other half of this connection. Cornelius, we should talk about this. Let's go up to my office."

Fudge's face relaxed and he smirked. "You feel panicked Mr. Potter, something wrong?" He held up the cross clenched in his fist.

The cold metal sent goose bumps across his chest.

"Dawkins, take the necklace from him."

The man of Fudge's right stepped forward.

Fudge's eyes widened. "What is wrong with you?" He stumbled back. "Merlin!"

Harry lunged at the necklace.

"Hagrid!" Dumbledore called out and enormous arms wrapped around his chest.

"No!" Harry threw his weight forward but the arms didn't loosen.

Fudge dropped the necklace and collapsed against the wall. "He's deranged. Grab him! Take him into custody!"

The necklace lay in the groove between stones. It was so close. It flew into his hand. Panic filled him. He had to get away. He couldn't breathe. Black spots filled his eyes.

"What is going on?"

Snape. He was back. Oh God. He couldn't get free. They were going to let him. They were in on this. He was in front of him. No!

Snape reached toward him.

Harry screamed. "No no no no! Help! Cali! Somebody. Please! Help me!" He slammed against the arms. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Get the necklaces from him!" Snape was too close.

The metal slipped out of his wet palm. The chain snapped against his neck and flew off. The colors blurred, mixed together, and faded to black.

---

We're almost to new story. Leave me a review.


	23. No contact

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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"Minister, you need to calm down."

"I want that boy taken in custody. He's unstable. I saw his mind." Fudge's voice was too high. He sounded panicked.

"Cornelius, let's sit down and talk about this." Dumbledore sounded weary.

The white curtain around the bed muffled their voices as they moved away.

"Hello Harry." Kingsley sat in the chair next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a train." He pushed his shirt up and poked at the bruises spanning his chest.

Kingsley coughed. "Or a half-giant?"

He rubbed his scar. "Where's my necklace?"

Kingsley shifted in the chair. "Harry--"

He's not going to give it back. What if they destroyed it? No! I--I can't-- "I need it! Where is it?"

Kingsley pushed his shoulders back down onto the bed. "You're not going to get it back. It's--"

Harry smacked at his arms until they jerked away. "Fuck that. I need it."

"Why? Harry, why do you need it so much?" Kingsley was glancing toward the voices. He was going to call them in here.

No. Snape would come. Wait. Snape. I'm not scared of him anymore. Harry rubbed his temples. God, it hurt just to breathe. Why wouldn't they give it back? Why wouldn't they let him breathe? "It--It keeps me calm."

Kingsley sank back into the chair. "So do deep breaths Harry."

That won't help. He doesn't know what it feels like. My head is being ripped apart. "No. I need--"

"Get your hands off me!"

Kingsley's head snapped toward the voice.

Harry scrambled out from the covers and peeked through the curtains. "Cali."

"What?" Kingsley peered around behind him.

An auror shoved Cali into a chair. Her arms were bound behind her back.

"You will never hear the end of this you stupid, slimy bastard." She kept yanking her arms trying to break free.

Fudge walked away from Dumbledore. "Child, you would do well to have some respect. You are in a lot of trouble. Do you know how many laws you have broken?"

Cali growled and glared at him. "How about we talk about how many laws you've broken? Article five section seven line twenty-three of the international treaty states that each minister of magic has jurisdiction over his district only. You have no jurisdiction over me Fudge." She pulled against the bonds. "When the other ministers are informed you will be screwed. They do not like others interfering with their business."

Fudge folded his arms across his chest. "And how exactly do you know all this?"

"Fudge, what the hell do you think you are doing?" Dad stormed through the doors.

Fudge's arms dropped to his sides and his eyes darted around the room. "Richardson?! What are you doing here?"

Cali smiled. "Hi Daddy."

"Dad?" Fudge stepped back as Dad waved his arm and the ropes dropped off Cali's wrists. He must be hiding his wand in his sleeve again.

Cali stood and rubbed her wrists. "Yes. Dad. As in I am the daughter of the American Minister of Magic." She smirked. "I bet you kind of wish you didn't arrest me now, don't you?"

Fudge backed away. "Chris, I'm sure we can talk this through."

Dad stalked forward. "All right. Start talking. I'd like to hear you explain why you violated your jurisdiction and arrested my daughter."

"She--she was in possession of an object that opened a magical connection between your daughter and Mr. Potter. It was causing fluctuations across the country. Something had to be done."

Dad narrowed his eyes. He should be a Snape. He glares well. "Did you confiscate the item from Mr. Potter first?"

Fudge stepped back and fiddled with his fingers. "Well--no."

Dad stepped within inches of Fudge. "Did you know that he had it when you took Cali's?"

Fudge backed into the wall. "Not exactly--"

Dad slammed his back into the wall. "Then you willfully violated your jurisdiction."

Fudge's face was white and he was looking toward the aurors whom apparently had no desire to get between Fudge and an angry father. "Spells were being affected. Action had to be taken to ensure the safety of my fellow wizards."

Dad dropped his arms, walked back, and pushed Cali onto a bed.

Cali rubbed her arms where it the bed frame. "Ow. Dad--"

He tilted her head back. "Did you create this connection and give the means of creating it to Harry?"

Cali bit her lip. "Yes, but--"

He pushed her head back up as she tried to break eye contact. "Did you know it would affect other people's magic?"

Cali ripped her head away and backed up. "It wasn't supposed to be that powerful. I didn't compensate for the excess energy created by magic produced by the warding surrounding the castle."

Dad rubbed his forehead. "What was it supposed to do?"

Cali glanced toward Harry and smiled before dropping her face back into looking nervous. "Let us share emotions."

Dad leaned against the bed frame. "Why?"

Cali played with her fingers. Oh no. This is bad. She's holding back emotions again. She's going to-- "They wouldn't let us stay together! I need him and he needs me and this was the only option they left us!"

Dad started. "Cali, calm down."

Cali jumped up and paced the length of the bed. "You can't just put two people together and then rip them apart."

Dad grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "What kind of drain did the connection have?"

Cali was shaking. "It's not fair."

He shook her. "What kind of drain Cali?"

She looked toward the wall. "I don't know. It was supposed to be negligible. It ended up at maybe twelve or fourteen times what a normal level one spell takes."

He dropped her shoulders. "Harry?"

He popped through the curtains and threw his arms around his waist. "Hi Dad."

Dad tilted his head up. "How are you feeling?"

Harry shrugged. "Everything hurts. Can I have the necklace back?"

Cali jumped up and hugged him too. "Yeah Dad, please!"

He looked between them then over at Dumbledore. "They're addicted. The necklaces caused their magical reserves to increase. Without the extra drain they return to normal levels. It's like being tired all the time."

McGonagall lowered herself to a bed. "So that is what's affecting his behavior?"

Dad shook his head. "They connected their minds. The loss of a connection that deep--It must be like cutting yourself off from the world."

"It is." Cali tugged on his shirt. "Give them back. Please?"

He smoothed her hair down. "I'm afraid that will be impossible. But don't worry. You should be back to normal in a day or so. Everything will be okay." He loosened Cali's hold on his waist. "We have to get home before your mother sends the National Guard after us."

"No!" Cali grabbed Harry and they backed into the wall. "You can't do this again."

Dad moved toward them. "I'm sorry Morganna. I don't have a choice. Why don't we go home and talk about why you felt you needed this connection?"

Cali glared and pulled him closer to her and the wall. "Fuck off. I've done enough talking. I want Harry."

Dad's wand dropped into his hand. "Accio laptop." No one moved until the laptop flew into his arms.

"No." Harry pulled Cali against him. "You can't take that."

Cali was shaking. "You weren't supposed to know about that."

Dad shook his head. "I'm not dumb Morganna. You spent weeks working on a laptop when yours worked perfectly well." He laid his hand on the back of Harry's neck. "We have to go Harry. Don't worry. Everything will be fine. You can see each other on break." He slipped the laptop case over his shoulder. "Even Biara felt the magic fluctuations Harry. Fudge was right about that. It has to stop. You can write each other letters."

He wasn't lying. He was cutting him off from Cali. He wasn't going to let them make a choice. There had to be a way to contact each other. There were so many spells. There had to be a spell to help. Cali had to help him with Snape. Snape saw it. He knows I remember now. He can't let me tell anyone what he did. I need a protection spell. The Academy library is probably full of them.

"Harry?" Dad brushed the hair off his forehead. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry I have to do this."

Harry tried to smile. "I know. It's okay. I'll be okay." I need to get my bag. The bottle is in my bag. Where did I leave it? Oh crap. It's in the dungeon. I can't go back. Hermione will get it for me. I'll go back to the tower and ask her. He kissed Cali's forehead. "We'll be all right."

"It's wearing off Harry. You know it is. It's coming back." Cali whispered in his ear and wrapped her arms around him.

Harry squeezed her. "It's okay. I'm okay. It's not as bad as before. I know it's not real."

Cali pressed her hands against his cheeks. "You'd tell me if it wasn't okay, wouldn't you?"

He squeezed her once more and stepped back. "Yes. I promise I would. Bye Cali."

"Bye Harry." Cali took her father's hand and walked out with Snape. Snape? When did he get here? He didn't do anything. He didn't try and hurt me. Maybe it's the connection. I'm going through withdrawal. It just seemed like it made sense. Everything is okay. He doesn't want to hurt me. It wasn't real.

Fudge cleared his throat. "Now that that nonsense is over--"

Harry rubbed his scar. Why did everything have to hurt so much? If I stay out here he'll try and make me guilty of something. If I try and leave someone will stop me. They don't know that I'm okay. Why can't they just believe me? I'm fine. I just need another dose. "You can't do anything to me. You only knew about me after you illegally seized property. It doesn't make any difference what I did. I know the laws."

Fudge clenched his teeth. "What about what I saw in you mind Mr. Potter?"

Harry walked back toward his bed. What did he see? What was I thinking? He has to ignore it. Think it wasn't real. "I was going through magical withdrawal. I was not in my right mind. Now I can return to normal." He has to buy it. He's an idiot. He'll believe anything. Why does he never believe me? "I'm tired now. It must be all the abnormal behavior. I should sleep so I can be better for class tomorrow." He pulled the curtains closed.

Madam Pomfrey shooed everyone out and stood next to his bed. "Are you all right Mr. Potter?"

He got under the covers. His lungs ached, the pain overshadowing the throbbing in his head. "I need the medicine for my bronchitis." Someone will bring me that damn bottle.

Madam Pomfrey stopped straightening his blankets. "What?"

"I got bronchitis this summer. Magic wouldn't cure it, so I have to take pills for it. They're in my bag. I left it in the dungeon." What is the chance that she knows that the only reason it wouldn't be cured by magic was because of the wand less magic I was doing?

She gave the cover one last tug. "Professor Snape brought your bag up." She brought it back to the bed.

He smiled. Score. But she can't see me taking them. "Thanks. I have to take them in the morning."

"All right." She pulled the gap in the curtains closed. "Why don't you rest Mr. Potter?"

"Okay." His head sunk to the pillow.

"Harry?" Ron peeked through the curtains.

Harry fumbled for his glasses on the table and slipped them on. "Hi Ron."

Ron perched on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He yawned. "What are you doing here?"

Ron handed him a pile of clothes. "I thought you'd appreciate some clothes to wear tomorrow." He shifted and sat in the chair next to the bed. "Dumbledore told us what happened."

That man never could keep his mouth shut. "Who's us?"

"Me and Hermione." He dropped his head into his hands. "I'm sorry mate. I didn't mean to--you were acting different and--I missed my friend. I was a total prick Harry."

Harry smiled and patted him on the shoulder. He doesn't even bother asking if that's what was causing my 'weird behavior.' "It's okay. It's not like I was that logical myself."

Ron sighed and dropped his chin into his hand. "We really screwed this year up."

Harry laughed. "And it hasn't even really started yet."

Ron chewed on his finger. "Does that mean we get a second chance?"

Harry smiled. "Maybe it does."

He smiled. "I'm sorry about the whole thing with Ginny."

Would you still be sorry if I really had been putting the moves on her? "It's okay. I know it probably looked bad."

Ron dropped back in the chair. "Are you sure you're all right? I mean, bloody hell, the minister of magic."

What if I said I wasn't all right? What if I told you that it felt like Hagrid is jumping on my head. "I am right now. I'm not going to venture any farther than that."

Ron glanced around. "Hermione wanted me to tell you that we're your friends and you can talk to us. Ginny would probably say the same thing. Girls like to say stuff like that."

And you can't say that? You can't reassure me that even though I've been through hell I still have friends that care about whether I live or die? Harry laughed. "Thanks Ron. I'd better get some rest so I can make it through my classes tomorrow."

"All right. Good night Harry." Ron slipped through the curtains.

"Night Ron." He grabbed the glass on the table and set it in his lap. He scrounged in his bag and pulled out the bottle. He tapped the bottle against his mouth and sipped the water. He put the glass back and set his glasses next to it. Everything is always fine. He dropped back to the pillow.

Madam Pomfrey pulled the curtains open. "Good morning Mr. Potter. It's time to get ready and get off to breakfast. Are you feeling well enough to do that?"

"Yes ma'am. I think so." He swallowed two of his Valium. Now she's seen me take pills and will think I remembered what I was supposed to do. I'm responsible. Responsible people don't have to be watched all the time.

She smiled. "Wonderful. You are definitely looking much better this morning. Why don't you go change?"

"Thank you." He grabbed the clothes and went to change in the bathroom. He pulled the robe on and sighed. The same stupid clothes he was going to wear everyday for the entire year. He walked out again.

She rested her palm against his forehead. "If you begin to feel worse I want you to come back and see me, okay?"

Like that's going to happen. "Yes ma'am."

"Well then, off you go." She shooed him out of the wing.

The Great Hall was filled. He slipped onto the bench next to Hermione. "Hi guys."

Hermione laid her hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"

"I'm wonderful." Did I just mean that?

"Really?" I guess she's not sure either. I think one of us should be sure.

"Yes. I'm not lying. Monday was just a bad day. With--without the necklace I'm feeling much more like my--myself. Wednesday should be a much better day."

Hermione smiled. "Well that's wonderful. Now eat up before we go to Potions."

The eggs were oozing across the plate and making the flaky bacon soggy.

Hermione eyed his full plate. "Harry? Are you going to eat?"

He forced himself to put a spoonful of lumpy, sticky porridge in his mouth. It glued his mouth shut and he squeezed his throat and the back of his mouth to keep from gagging.

The owls swooped in the windows. A black owl dropped a box in front of Harry.

"Who is it from?" Hermione tried to read over his shoulder.

Harry sighed and opened the envelope. "Harry, don't worry about Fudge. He's been dealt with. I baked you some of your favorite cookies. Enjoy. Don't eat them all at once and make yourself sick. Love Mom."

Neville choked. "Mom?! You got cookies from your Mom?" I really have to stop reading aloud.

The professors were all looking toward the Gryffindor table.

"No Neville." I did not get cookies from my dead mother. But that would be funny. They'd probably be stale though. "Not my Mom. Just Mom."

Neville peeked at the card. "Who's Mom?"

"Cali's Mom." Harry pulled open the box and handed Neville a cookie. "Double chocolate fudge cookies." He took a big bite. Now that is food. Why can't Mom just send me something to eat so I don't have to eat the gross sludge they're passing off as food this year? "I love her."

"Um!" Neville stared at the cookie. "This is amazing."

"Don't I know it." Harry finished the cookie and shoved the box in his bag. "I'd better stop before I eat the whole box. Ready to go to class Hermione?"

Hermione was still staring at him. For goodness sake he was fine. "Yes. Sure. Bye Ron."

Ron watched him as he slung his bag over his shoulder. "Bye."

Harry unpacked his potions stuff.

"So are you going to grace us with some more of your wonderful potions knowledge today Potter?" Malfoy snorted.

Harry dropped his bag to the floor. If I agree with everything he says then we won't be fighting anymore. "Like you said Malfoy, what does a remedial potions student know?"

"Quiet down." Snape swept into the room and Malfoy headed to his table.

Snape waved his wand at the board. "Begin."

The ingredients were familiar. He'd made it most of the summer while he was helping Dad.

Draco was snickering.

"Harry?" Hermione rested her hand on his arm.

"I didn't get a lot of sleep. I'm fine." He tossed ingredients into the cauldron. Did I just think of him as Draco? That's not so bad. He's a person. Maybe he's nice to some people? I wonder what he's like when he's not trying to be a prick with a stick up his arse?

"Bring a bottle of your potion to the front.

Harry filled his bottle and stared at it. It was blue. He looked at Snape's desk. Yep. All purple. Fuck. Malfoy laughed when he saw the bottle.

Snape raised his eyebrows. "Stay after class Potter."

Hermione grimaced. "I'll wait for you outside."

Harry waved his wand and emptied the cauldron. "No. It's okay. I'll just meet you in Transfiguration."

Hermione chewed on her lip. "Are you sure?"

"Shouldn't you be going to your next class Miss Granger?" Snape stood.

Hermione grabbed her bag and headed out, closing the door behind her.

Snape gestured to Harry's potion. "Problem Mr. Potter? Were the instructions unclear?"

His hair is swaying. It's like a swing. Wait. What was he saying? Something about a potion. "No."

Snape crossed his arms over his chest. "Then what is the problem exactly?"

He clenched his hand around the bottle. "Why am I bothering?"

Snape stepped back. "Bothering with what exactly?"

Harry swung his arms around. "With any of this! I can do all this shit."

Snape sneered. "Your potion suggests otherwise."

I guess I'm not broken anymore. He's not being nice to me. "My 'potion' lies." He set the bottle down and waved his hand over it. It shimmered and duplicated. He picked up the bottle on the right and chucked it at the wall.

"Mr. Potter!"

Everything on the table disappeared and he picked up his filled bag.

"Wait!" Snape grabbed his arm.

Harry took a deep breath. "Let go."

Snape looked him up and down. "What was the spell Harry? What did he do to you?"

Does Voldemort know what his skin feels like? Was it real? Harry squeezed his eyes shut. "Let go."

Snape jerked him sideways. "What did I see yesterday?!"

"No!" The potion bottles on the desk exploded. The top half of a bottle slashed across his cheek. He bolted out of the room and scrambled up he stairs. Everyone would be in the halls going to class. He ran down the back hallways. The Fat Lady started as he hit the floor in front of the entrance. "Pass-password?"

He pulled air into his lungs. "Polonius."

The portrait swung open. He stepped in and pounded up the stairs. He dropped the bag and dove into his bed, clapping his hand over his cheek. "I need help. Please help. I can't do this."

"Harry?" Lupin stepped out of the shadows. "Harry what's wrong?"

He's here. Why is he here? I though he hated me. He can't hate me. He's here. Harry scrambled over and threw himself into his arms. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I thought he was in trouble."

"What? Who? Harry, what's going on?" He tilted Harry's head up. "What happened to your cheek?"

Harry sniffed. "Sn--Snape. He--" There wasn't enough air. His blood vessels were throbbing. They were going to explode. He'd be dead. I need the pills. Harry started hyperventilating.

"Harry! Harry, sit down. Take deep breaths." Lupin led him to the bed and pushed him down.

Harry pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on them.

Lupin rubbed his back as his breathing slowed. "Are you okay?"

Harry nodded into his knees.

"Harry, I want you to go see Madam Pomfrey. All right?" His voice was strong. Everything was okay. Lupin wasn't worried.

Madam Pomfrey? I just saw her. She let me go. "Why?"

"Why--Your cheek Harry."

"My--" He traced the bloodstain on his pants. "Oh."

Lupin's hand wasn't moving anymore. His body heat seeped into Harry's muscles. "Will you go see her? Please?"

I've got the healing potion from class. I could just take it. But then he'd know I had it. What if he told Snape? What if Snape came after him? "Okay. Yes. She won't be happy to see me again though."

Lupin's eyes widened. "Again? When were you there?"

"I got out this morning. I passed out on Monday."

"What?! What happened?" Lupin wrapped his arm around his waist.

Harry hopped off the bed and paused in the doorway. Too close. "Snape." He hurried down the stairs.

---

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	24. This is not happening

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

--------

The door to the potions classroom slammed against the wall. Lupin stormed through the door.

Severus pushed himself off his desk. "What are you doing here?"

Lupin grabbed him and slammed him against the wall. "What did you do to him?!"

"What did I do to whom? And get your hands off of me!"

Lupin shook him and his head connected with the wall. "Harry! What did you do to Harry?"

"Nothing. Release me now."

"Then why is he bleeding?"

"Your precious Potter made the entire classes potion bottles explode. One of the many pieces of glass cut his cheek. Now release me!"

"What about Monday? He said he passed out because of you."

Severus sneered. "Oh, now it's my fault and not the two aurors that were after him?"

"Wh--what?"

"He didn't tell you that, did he?"

Lupin stepped back. "Why--why were there aurors after him?"

Severus smoothed his robes. "Illegal connection disrupting magic across two continents. They came to confiscate the necklace that formed the connection. He started screaming and passed out."

Lupin released him and fell against the table. "What's wrong with him? Wait--he just pulled out his wand and broke the potion bottles? Why didn't you grab his wand and stop him?"

Severus rubbed his forehead. "No wand. He just closed his eyes and they exploded."

Lupin straightened. "That is not possible."

Severus shrugged. "Apparently now it is. Where is he?"

Lupin blinked a few times before his eyes refocused and he answered. "I sent him to Madam Pomfrey."

"Let's go find the headmaster. He needs to be informed."

Lupin nodded and slunk out the door.

Severus turned and waved his wand. The glass disappeared.

------

Harry leaned against the wall. Madam Pomfrey was lecturing him about something. Probably about whatever he had told her had happened. It was all kind of fuzzy.

"Mr. Potter, are you listening to me?"

"Not really."

"What?"

"I'm not really listening. It takes a little too much energy."

"Is everything all right Poppy?" Dumbledore was somewhere near the right of the bed.

"I think she's a little put out because I'm not listening to her."

"And why aren't you listening? Perhaps she was telling you something important."

"I'm dizzy. It's hard to listen when everything's swimming."

The bed sank down by his feet. "Do you know why you're dizzy?"

"I decimated my magical reserves."

"I see. Doing what?"

Harry rubbed his forehead. "Am I still mad at you? 'Cause I know I was but then I think you let me choose something and I was happy, but I think I got pissed off again. Do you remember?"

"What made you dizzy Harry? How did you hurt your cheek?"

"I blew the potion bottles up. The glass cut my cheek open."

"I see. Why did you blow up the bottles?"

"I didn't mean to. At least I don't think I meant to."

"What happened?"

"He grabbed my arm."

"And?"

"He wouldn't let go."

"I see." The bed shifted. "Are you feeling all right? After what occurred I was worried."

"What happened?"

"The aurors Harry."

"What aurors?" He opened his eyes.

Dumbledore's eyes looked wider than usual. "You do not remember when the aurors came to see you?"

I was--what was I doing? I remember--someone. Who--why is everything fuzzy? "No. Is that bad?"

Dumbledore pressed his lips together and rested his hand on Harry's knee. "You're tired. Why don't you rest?"

Rest would be nice. Things don't make me quite so dizzy when my eyes are closed. I can't see them spinning. "Okay. You'll tell me if he contacts you, right?"

Dumbledore tilted his head to the side. "If who contacts me?"

What is he playing at? He knows whom I'm talking about. "Sirius. He said he'd come back to see me soon. I have so much to tell him. You will tell me, won't you?"

Dumbledore glanced behind him. Three people stood by the door in the shadows. "Harry, I think you should rest now. We will talk soon. All right?"

"All right. Goodnight." Harry squirmed underneath the covers, put his glasses on the bedside table, and sank into the mattress.

------------

Severus clinked the hangers together. "What exactly do we expect to find by searching the boy's room?"

Lupin's hands froze in Harry's dresser. "Anything that could explain how he suddenly forgets that Sirius--"

McGonagall pulled a purple bag out of the bedside table and unzipped it. "I--I think I may have found the problem." She handed the bag to the headmaster.

He took out one of the bottles. "Warnings: overuse can lead to dizziness, temporary memory loss, and catatonia."

McGonagall clapped her hand over her mouth.

Lupin slammed the drawer. "Why would he be taking anything that would do that?"

Dumbledore turned the bottle around. "This says that it's an anti depressant." He replaced the bottle, zipped the bag, and tucked it into a pocket of his robes. "I believe we may have underestimated the effects of the events of last year."

Severus rolled his eyes. "You are forgetting what the Dark Lord did to him. We still don't know what the effects of the spell were that was cast inside Potter's head. It could have had lasting results."

Dumbledore glanced around the room. "You do not know what he saw? Did you not ask Biara?"

"You heard the same thing I did. Images were placed in his head that caused his subsequent actions. We saw Cali possess him and reverse the spell. Biara did not seem to have any concerns over his well being when I picked him up. I doubt she'd tell me even if she knew." Severus pushed through the clothes tossed at the bottom of the closet. "When we took him from his relatives house he said something about knowing that he shouldn't have trusted me. I thought he had improved when he asked me to--I guess I was wrong."

"What did he ask you to do Severus?" Dumbledore moved away from the bed.

Why do I always have to answer all the questions? "To teach him occulmency once again."

Lupin snorted. "After what you did to him last year? Why would he go to you again?"

Because I didn't lie to him. Or at least that's what he said. Though I don't think he meant to come ask me. He looked surprised to be in my office. "I do not know."

Dumbledore sighed. "I fear we are working in the dark here. We need more information before we can--"

"I believe that the Dark Lord has managed to remove the blockages Cali put in to neutralize the spell. Perhaps Potter knew what was happening. He wanted to block him out of his mind." A pair of women's shoes was buried in the pile of clothes. "In the hospital wing Cali said that it was wearing off. He told her it wasn't as bad as before. Perhaps he was wrong or was trying not to worry her."

McGonagall crossed her arms. "At least that shows logical thinking on his part. If he was trying to get help it can't be too bad."

"On the other hand." Severus pulled the corset out from the pile of clothes.

McGonagall gasped.

"Harry, Ron's freaking out." The youngest Weasley pushed through the door. "He said--" She froze. "Oh. Well. Hello. I was just--looking for Harry and--" Her eyes locked on the corset hanging from his hand. "Oh my. Uh--If it helps any I've been told there's an explanation for that. I'm just--I'm going to go." She spun around.

"Miss Weasley." The headmaster stepped forward. "If you would be so kind as to not mention this to anyone it would be most appreciated."

The girl chewed on her lip. She was bursting to ask something. "Harry's not okay, is he? Something happened. He kept saying--I knew he wasn't okay."

Dumbledore rested his hand on her shoulder. "He's in the hospital wing resting. He seems to be forgetting some things."

Her eyes widened. "Can I go see him?"

He paused for a moment before nodding. "Yes. Go ahead."

Weasley spun and ran out of the room.

"I think that is our cue to go." The headmaster walked out and down the stairs.

Severus tossed the corset back into the closet and followed him. "If the spell is active once again we must discover a way of breaking it. I doubt he will be able to keep the Dark Lord out of his mind."

They left the tower. Dumbledore led them toward his office. "Could we not employ Morganna to repeat whatever it was that she did?"

Severus clenched his teeth. They had no confidence in the boy and would put someone else in danger before even seeing if he was capable of recovering on his own. "It nearly killed her the first time. And if he found a way to break down whatever she did, he would just do it again."

They climbed the winding stairs and entered his office. Dumbledore sat behind his desk. "What do you suggest Severus?"

He drummed his fingers on his arms. "Why not give the boy what he wants? A chance to make a decision about his own life."

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well." He doesn't mean it. Or it will be some superficial decision that means nothing. He leaned back in his chair. "Now Remus. Perhaps you would like to explain what you were doing in Gryffindor tower when Harry returned to his room?"

Lupin opened and closed his mouth. "I--I just wanted to check on him."

"And you got into Gryffindor tower how?"

Lupin growled. "Why are we harping on this when Harry is in trouble?"

Dumbledore rested his elbows on the desk and rested his chin on his hands. "Remus." His eyes did not move from the shifting werewolf.

Remus sighed. "Sirius gave him something last year. I was looking for it."

"What was it?"

Remus fidgeted. "A two way mirror. I found the other one in Sirius's bedroom but it wasn't working. I wanted to see what was wrong with it."

"Did you find it?"

"No."

"I see." Dumbledore stood. "Perhaps we should all return to what we need to be doing. Severus, a moment."

Everyone filed out. He took a seat in front of the desk.

"You are aware that when we give him a choice of how he wants to handle things he will almost certainly request to return to the Academy."

Since he did not desire to return here in the first place I believe that is a safe bet to make. "Yes. We cannot allow that as you well know. There are no doubt students there now that know who Harry Potter is and we cannot be certain of their loyalties. He would have no protection."

The headmaster's eyes closed. "I do not know how to protect him from this."

Stop coddling the boy and let him stand on his own feet and take responsibility for his own stupidity. "Maybe all he needs is a chance to protect himself."

"Perhaps. He's just a boy Severus. He shouldn't have to go through all this."

"He doesn't have a choice. None of us do. If you will excuse me. I must be going." He shut the door behind him. Everyone wants to coddle the wonderful boy who lived. If he will not tell anyone what is in his head I'll just have to take it. He stalked into the infirmary.

Madam Pomfrey was reading a book in her office, her back to the wing. He slipped behind the curtains surrounding Potter's bed. He was sleeping curled in a ball. He sat in the chair next to the bed and pulled out his wand. "Legilimens." The images flowed through his mind. He slid suggestions into the boy's subconscious. 'The images from Voldemort.' The images snapped to black. It was cold. The rough stone scrapped against his bare skin. His forehead throbbed. It was his scar. Voldemort was happy. No. It wasn't him. It was Harry. He was Harry. The fingers brushed up his back and he was torn apart. This wasn't real. This didn't happen. This wasn't happening now. Hair brushed against his--Harry's cheek. He forced his eyes open.

He fell out of the chair and hit the floor.

The boy was struggling in his sleep. He was whimpering. "No. Stop. Please."

The door to Madam Pomfrey's office opened.

He slipped through he curtains and pressed against the wall on the other side as she came over and Potter calmed down. Her footsteps headed back toward her office. He slipped out of the shadows and hurried out of the wing.

He waved his wand at the door of his office putting up a dozen locking charms. He opened the bottom drawer of the desk and pulled the bottle of fire whiskey out of the very back. He unscrewed the cap and took a swig. This wasn't happening. He collapsed into the chair. That face. Those eyes. It was him. Potter had images of him--it was him in his mind. No wonder the boy panicked when he saw me at the Academy. This wasn't happening. He took another swig from the bottle.

---

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	25. Hagrid

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

--------

"Harry?" Dumbledore sat next to the bed.

"Hello Professor." It was dark with his head under the covers.

"Are you going to come out?"

"I wasn't planning on it." He picked at a loose thread in the blanket. "I was really out of it, wasn't I?"

"I'm afraid so. Are you feeling more like yourself now?"

"The immediate affects of the drugs wear off after a few hours." I kept taking them every time I hurt. I could have done some serious damage. "I really didn't mean to take too many. I just wasn't careful enough."

"I never thought you were trying to take too many. But we must talk about why you were taking them at all."

Harry pushed back the covers and stared at them. "Do we have to?"

"Yes. We have to. Where did you get them?"

Harry sighed. "I was prescribed them."

"By whom?"

He picked his glasses off the table and slipped them on. "Biara had me talking to a therapist for most of the time I was there. After Cali reversed the--the spell."

"A therapist?"

"Yeah. He was a wizard so I could tell him everything. Well, more than I could have told a muggle at least."

"And did he help you?"

"Some. It's not like there was anything he could say to fix things. It's not like my problems are normal."

"And he gave you the antidepressants?"

"Yeah. And the rest of them too."

"The rest?"

"Anti psychotics, a few different antidepressants, and the valium."

"What does Valium do?"

"It calms you down. I forgot I wasn't supposed to take it at the same time as the other ones I took."

Dumbledore sighed. His eyes were probably filled with disappointment. I just won't look up. "It worries me that you felt you needed to take them at all. Did you talk to anyone before you took them?"

Harry pulled his knees to his chest. "I can't. I couldn't. No one would understand. I was fine. I didn't need any help."

A hand settled on his shoulder. "Then why are you in the hospital wing? Why did you forget big events in your life?"

He shoved the hand off and backed against the headboard. "Maybe I wanted to forget! Why can't everyone leave me alone?"

"Harry--"

He forced his muscles to unclench. "I'm sorry. I know. I'm irrational. I just--I don't want to talk right now."

"I'm going to have to take the pills. If you truly feel that you need them you can come to me and we can talk and make a decision then. All right?"

Harry clenched his toes. "Yes. All right. Thank you." He took a deep breath. "What time is it?"

"It is almost time for dinner."

At least I'm hungry again. "Can I leave?"

Dumbledore sighed. I don't think I've ever heard the man sigh this much. "I'm afraid not. Madam Pomfrey wants to keep you here until the drugs are out of your system."

Harry dropped his head to his knees. "How long?"

"That is a question for you. You know more about the drugs than anyone here."

Harry picked at the seams of the hospital pajamas. I could say it takes twenty-four hours and be out of here tomorrow. However, then if I act oddly they'll think it's something wrong with me and not the drugs. "What day of the week is it?"

"Thursday."

I suppose it would be safest if I just hung out here for a few days. No invasive questions from other students. That should work. "I should be relatively back to normal by Sunday."

"I see." Dumbledore stood. "I will inform Madam Pomfrey."

He walked toward her office and Harry dropped back against the pillows. That was quite possibly the dumbest thing I've ever done in my life.

Dumbledore hesitated by the end of the bed. "Did Miss Weasley come and visit you?"

"Yeah." Harry smirked. "You want an explanation for the corset yet?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I see that she decided to tell you of our little escapade."

Escapade? And here I thought it was a blatant invasion of privacy. "Did you really think she wouldn't tell me that teachers were searching my room?"

"I suppose not." His blue eyes were laughing. "Do I want to know why you had a corset in your closet?"

Harry bit his lip to keep the smile away. "Well do you know how hard it is to find a corset in my size?" He stretched as Dumbledore chuckled and entered Pomfrey's office.

-------

Harry walked into the Great Hall. Luckily not many people were up and out of bed for Sunday morning breakfast. He sat down next to Hermione. "Hello."

"Harry!" She pulled him into a hug. "Are you all right? What happened? Dumbledore wouldn't let us see you. He wouldn't tell us anything except that you were in the hospital wing."

At least he left it up to me as to how much I want to tell them. "I'm fine. Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have let me go if I wasn't."

At least Ron isn't here to ask tactless questions. This way I have a test run before talking to him. "Ron still in bed?"

Hermione snorted. "Of course. Though he might have gotten up if he knew you were being let out this morning." She took a bite of her eggs. "And don't think that I'm letting this go Mr. 'I can distract her with answers to half of her questions.' What happened?"

Damn. "Remember the drugs Ron mentioned?"

Hermione glanced around and moved closer. Uh oh. She's looking really nervous. "Yes. What about them?"

Harry took a deep breath. It's now or never. "It wasn't just Valium. There were anti depressants and anti psychotics." He ignored her gasp. "I was taking them. Every so often my head would start pounding and I'd take a couple. I wasn't even sure which ones I was taking when." She was forcing herself to not lecture him. She was almost shaking with the effort. "I know that it was stupid. All the pain was probably just me going through withdrawal. It just started as 'if one pill makes the pain stop for this long maybe three will stop it for longer.' I figured since I'd been prescribed them it didn't matter when I took them." He sighed and spooned porridge into his bowl. "I really never had any muggle drugs before this and the man who prescribed them didn't ask if I knew what I was doing."

Hermione jammed her fork into a sausage. "Tell me who it was. I'll track him down and kill him." She laughed as his mouth dropped open. "What? I can't defend my friends? It was a psychiatrist, wasn't it? They over prescribe drugs like you wouldn't believe. They never even think that there could be another option. That's why I stopped going."

Harry smiled. She's not mad at me. "Did you get my homework for me? In a week of school I've managed to miss most of my classes. I'll never catch up."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh yes you will. If I have to lock you in a room you will have all your work done. The professors, even Snape, said that they'd help you with the practical things you missed. It's amazing. They all acted really worried. And no wonder. Overdosing. That is the last thing I would have guessed."

At least she doesn't think I was trying to kill myself. "And what were your guesses?" Harry grinned as he tucked into his plate.

"The usual. Battling giant mythic monsters, hexing Malfoy in the hallways, sneaking into places you shouldn't be. Honestly, I don't know how you pass any of your classes when you spend so much time in the hospital wing."

Harry laughed. "Because of you of course Hermione. Where would Ron and I be without you?"

"I know that I don't want to even consider the possibility. It's too frightening."

Harry looked up at the head table. Dumbledore and McGonagall were looking at him and whispering to each other. Snape's seat was empty. He was probably still asleep. Harry sighed. Good. He grimaced and took a bite of his eggs.

---------

As the hands of the clock inched toward eleven the common room cleared. Soon only the three of them were left.

Harry collapsed back in the chair. "And now I'm all caught up." He rubbed his head. "I don't think I've ever spent that many hours in a row doing homework. How did I manage to do a week's worth of work in one night?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You actually concentrated on what you were working on instead of what else you could be doing instead of homework." She smiled and went back to her work.

The cool velvet of the chair raised goose bumps on his arms. The wind scraped branches against the windows. He rubbed his ear, pulling on the lobe. The hole hadn't closed yet. He hadn't put his earrings back in since he'd taken them off on the platform. If he didn't put in the eyebrow ring soon the hole would close up. He stuck his hands in his pockets to keep from rubbing his eyebrow. Can't have them looking too closely. The hole was still visible. He ran his fingers along the smooth, cool glass. The vial from potions. When had he put that in his pocket? He reached out and pulled the potions book into his lap. The sharp bottom corner dug into his leg. "What potion did we make in class Wednesday?"

Hermione glanced up from her Arithmancy work. "It was a fever reducing potion."

"Right." He flipped through the pages. He ran his finger down the list of ingredients, his calluses brushing over the rough paper. He hadn't followed these directions at all. What had he made? He dipped his quill into the ink and started writing the ingredients he remembered putting in. His eyes widened. "Guys. I'm dead on my feet. I'm heading off to bed."

"Ok mate." Ron was half asleep next to his History of Magic essay.

"Night Harry." Hermione smiled and went back to her work.

He ran up the stairs and inched opened the door. None of the boys stirred. He inched open his trunk and grabbed the invisibility cloak. He pulled the curtains around his bed shut and wrapped it around himself. He kicked off his shoes and padded down the stairs in his socks. Ron had his eyes closed and Hermione didn't even blink as he slipped by and out of the tower. The chill of the stone floor seeped through his socks. He hurried down the corridors and into the library. He took a deep breath and slipped into the restricted section. He scanned the rows of books. Learning from his last trip he didn't open any of the books. There. Most Potente Potions. He slipped it off the shelf and moved toward a window. He flipped through the pages past the directions for polyjuice. Cali had made a potion to repel evil. It had to be what he'd made. He found the page. The ingredients were totally different. He lifted the cover to close it and the moonlight shifted. Those were the ingredients. On the opposite page. He shifted the top of the page into the light. The words blurred in front of his eyes. He slammed the book shut and slid it back onto the shelf. He spun around and ran.

---------

The Astronomy tower was empty like most of the school in the middle of the night. Harry slid down the wall and let his head fall back. He pulled the vial out of his pocket and held it up to the light. It was blue. Still blue. Not purple. It was supposed to be purple. It was supposed to reduce fever not--Harry shook his head. He hadn't done this. He hadn't made this. It wasn't possible.

He slipped the potion back in his pocket. He'd made poison. Bloody hell. If Snape figured it out--He wasn't supposed to know that this potion existed. He hadn't known it existed. He'd only glanced at the page while Cali was making the potion. He couldn't have remembered it well enough to reproduce it without thinking about it. How do you make a swift acting, deadly poison without trying? He smacked his head against the wall. Why couldn't it have just been purple?

-------

Severus stumbled into the potions classroom. He smacked into the table. He pushed away from it and wove his way toward the potions cabinet. He opened the door and stared inside. So many potions. He squinted. It was on the top shelf. Of course it was on the top shelf. Where else would it be? He reached up and pulled it down, knocking two vials off the shelf. They hit the floor and rolled over to the desk intact. Shatterproof glass really was a wonderful thing. He pulled out the cork and downed the vial in his hand. The spinning stopped and the fog fled from his head. He set the empty vial on his desk the glass clinking softly as it rolled into the bottles sitting there. He picked up the two fallen potions and returned them to their shelf. The room looked fine otherwise. It didn't seem as if he'd knocked anything else over. He shut the cupboard.

Narrowing his eyes he bent down. The cold stone wall was rough. Small raised circles were burned into the wall. What would be caustic enough to eat through stone? The trail continued down the wall and into a small circle on the floor. Some kind of liquid had run down the wall destroying the stone in the process. Longbottom was no longer in his classes to make such an accidental poison. Snape's head snapped up. Poison? Why--Potter had thrown his potion against the wall. Snape stood. No mistake could be made in a fever reduction potion to create something like that. What had Potter been trying to make? He walked toward the door. The potion was destroyed anyway. He froze. A draft raised goose bumps on his skin. Potter had duplicated the potion somehow. It wasn't possible--nothing about that boy was possible. Not only did he make the poison, but he didn't want to destroy it. He made it on purpose. The boy still had a bottle of poison strong enough to eat through a stone wall. "Damn it!" He slammed his fist against the door. What was going on with that boy?

--------

Harry yawned and pushed his glasses up. Why was he sitting on the stone floor? He blinked clearing his vision. He was still in the Astronomy tower. He pushed himself up and looked out the window. The sun was barely rising. He rubbed his neck. The grounds were empty. Of course they were. There wasn't even anything stirring in the forbidden forest. Smoke rose from Hagrid's chimney. Harry wrapped himself in the cloak and headed outside.

The damp grass soaked through his socks in under a minute. He shivered as his socks squished and pushed the water over his feet. He pulled the cloak tighter around him, hoping it would at least warm him up a little. He climbed the few steps to Hagrid's hut and put his ear to the door. It didn't sound like Hagrid had any other visitors. He took a deep breath and knocked. The soft sounds inside stopped.

The door opened slowly and Hagrid peeked out, holding his crossbow. "Who's there?"

"It's me Hagrid."

Hagrid jumped. "You out there somewhere 'arry?"

"Yeah. I just don't want anyone to see me out here this early. Can I come in?"

"Yeah. Of course you can." He stepped back.

Harry ducked around him and moved inside.

"You inside 'arry?"

"Yeah. I am."

Hagrid shut the door. Harry pulled off the cloak. "You shouldn't be outside dressed like that. You're shivering." Hagrid led him over to the table and pushed him into a chair. He grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around Harry's shoulders. The rough blanket was warm from being so near the fire. Harry pulled his feet up onto the chair and pushed the blanket under them.

"What are you doing outside this early dressed like that?" Hagrid put the kettle on the fire and took down two teacups.

Harry rubbed his hands together. "I fell asleep in the astronomy tower. When I looked out I decided to come visit you."

"Are you feeling all right? After the other day, I was worried when you didn't come to class."

Harry shrugged. "I'm all right. I just cut my cheek on some glass and Madam Pomfrey wanted me to stay in the hospital wing for a while. I'm sorry you were worried. I'm fine."

Hagrid frowned at him. "Are you sure?"

Harry sighed. They probably told him what was really going on. Oh well. "Yeah."

Hagrid fixed the tea and set the cup in front of him. Harry wrapped his hands around it. The warmth seeped into his fingers.

"What were you doing in the astronomy tower?"

Harry sipped the tea. The bitter liquid warmed his throat. "I was just thinking." He pulled the vial out of his pocket and set it on the table.

"What is this?" Hagrid picked up the vial. "A Potion?"

Harry nodded. "We made it in class. It's a fever reduction potion."

Hagrid squinted at it. "Ain't those purple?"

"Yeah. I messed something up." He took a deep breath and looked down into the cup. "When I finished my homework I looked at the potion book to see if I could figure out what I'd done wrong. I didn't use any of the ingredients for the fever reduction potion."

He chuckled. "Well that would be a mistake. Why didn't you follow the directions?"

Harry pulled on his hair. "I thought I did. I made this potion over a dozen times this summer. The flu was going around and everyone had a fever. I just made it without thinking. Yesterday I really thought about it and wrote down what I could remember putting in it to see if I could figure out what I made."

Hagrid finished his tea and leaned back. "Did you?"

He's not going to freak out. He's my friend. He's done illegal things before and he wouldn't want the same thing to happen to me that happened to him. "It wasn't in my potions book. So I thought that it was one I'd watched Cali make. So I went into the restricted section of the library to look at the book--"

Hagrid started. "What?! That's dangerous. There are dark and dangerous books in there. You could have gotten hurt, or caught. If Filch--"

"I know! I only touched the book I was looking for and I knew it was safe. I had my invisibility cloak with me. I'm not completely stupid." No one has any trust in me.

Hagrid set his cup on the table. "I'm sorry Harry. I just want to make sure you're safe."

Harry pulled the blanket tighter around him. "Everyone does." The table was made of narrow boards held together. The spaces between the boards looked wider than the last time he had looked when Norbert was hatching on it.

"Did you find the potion you were looking for?"

Harry shook his head. "Yes and no. I found the one Cali made. Mine was different. It was on the opposite page."

"Well, what is it?" Hagrid turned the vial around.

"It's poison." He downed the rest of the tea.

"Yes. Of course. It's--it's what?" Hagrid set the vial down quickly.

"It's poison. Quick acting and deadly." He set the cup on the table. "And I made it without thinking about it and only having glanced at the ingredients once. It isn't possible that I knew how to make it." He started shaking. "If Snape finds out I'm dead. He'll think I made it on purpose. But I didn't mean to. I swear."

Hagrid hurried over, knelt, and wrapped his arms around him. "It's okay. If you didn't mean to make it then you just have to tell Professor Snape that and give him the potion."

"He'll get me expelled. He hates me." He couldn't stop shaking. He squeezed his eyes shut. NO! He wasn't weak. Stop laughing!

"Harry? Are you okay?" Hagrid was rubbing his arms.

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine. I just. I didn't get much sleep. I guess I'm starting to hear things. I should get back to the tower. I can't miss any more classes. I'll see you later Hagrid." He pushed the blanket off his shoulders, grabbed his invisibility cloak and the vial, and ran out the door. He bolted across the lawn and up the stairs. He had to get back before anyone knew he was missing. He whispered the password and slipped into the silent common room. He padded up the stairs and inched the door open. Neville's alarm went off. He threw himself forward and through the curtains around his bed. Dean's alarm went off and he mumbled and smacked it off like he did every morning.

Harry pulled off his sopping wet socks and dropped them over the far side of the bed. Neville was in the bathroom and everyone else was still asleep. He pulled his clothes out of his trunk and hopped back into bed. He changed quickly and headed off to the bathroom.

He slipped back into the room as Ron's alarm went off. I made it. Everything's fine. He snickered at Ron's flailing attempts to turn it off. "You're going to lose the battle Ron. You might as well get up."

Harry slipped his books into his backpack and slipped the potion back into his pocket. Hagrid was right. He had to do something with the potion. You couldn't pour it out because it would eat through anything. He'd just have to leave it in the potions classroom. Then Snape could deal with it and not know that it was his. Or he could give it to Snape saying he'd tried to figure out what he'd done wrong but had been unable to. But that might lead Snape to try and figure out what he'd done wrong. Unless he said something condescending about potions to distract him from the poison. Yeah. Maybe that would work.

"You ready to go mate?" Ron picked up his bag and headed for the door.

"Yeah." He pulled his robes tighter around him to hide the shivering. He grabbed his bag and followed Ron down the stairs.

The Great Hall was filling up. Harry slid into his usual seat. He grabbed the eggs and shoveled some onto his plate. He slid it back and took six pieces of bacon. He filled his bowl with oatmeal and started eating.

Ron and Hermione were staring at him. Ron's mouth was hanging open.

He swallowed, feeling the lumpy oatmeal inch down his throat. He chased it down with a sip of sweet pumpkin juice. "What are you guys staring at?"

"Hungry this morning?" Ron laughed and took a bite of eggs.

Harry looked at his plate. He shrugged. "Yeah." What was I thinking? This food is as good as always. He scrunched his nose. "Oh. It was probably the drugs. Most of them suppress appetite."

Ron frowned. "Where are the drugs?"

"Dumbledore said he had to take them, so they're probably in his office. He could have found them when they searched my room."

Hermione shook her head. "I still cannot believe that they did that. It's an invasion of privacy."

Harry laughed. "If I'm not mad you can't be either."

"Well then why aren't you mad?"

"I don't know. I should be." He sipped at his pumpkin juice. "Maybe I think they're being punished enough trying to decide why something was in my closet."

Hermione frowned. "What?"

Harry laughed. "It's nothing. I went to see this musical with Cali and the twel--and her friends. A lot of people dress up as the characters and there's audience participation. My costume was sitting at the bottom of my closet." He shrugged and dug into his eggs.

"So you're okay? With everything?" She was biting her lip and Ron had stopped eating and was staring at him.

"I'm feeling a lot better than I was a few days ago. The withdrawal symptoms are over. At least I hope they are because that was hell. Everything's a lot clearer. And since everyone, well Dumbledore, Lupin, and Snape, have repeatedly mentioned that it's not safe for me to go back to where I was I've given up any hope of that and started sending Cali letters."

Hermione nodded and turned back to her food. "Has she responded?"

"A few times. She doesn't have an owl but she somehow got a ferret to deliver them. It has a modified portkey on it that transports it to wherever I am. So I really hope she doesn't try to respond when I'm in a class."

Ron snorted. "A ferret?"

Harry smiled. "Yeah. And she sent me the same kind of portkey for Hedwig. I'm doing all right and after I do something today I think everything will be okay."

"Do what?" Ron was back to shoveling food into his mouth.

"Nothing important. Just this little thing. Can I go back to eating now?" He dug back into his food.

Ron and Hermione went back to eating and arguing about homework. Harry smiled. This is what he'd missed. Maybe things weren't as bad as he'd thought.

He left the Great Hall after eating as much as possible and rushed to the dungeons. He sat down and unpacked his stuff. "I am determined to make this potion correctly. So Hermione, if you see me putting anything weird in smack me or something."

"All right." She laughed. "You did really well the first day. What did you do different the second time?"

He looked out from under his eyelashes. "I didn't think about what I was doing."

She sighed. "That could be the problem Harry."

He laughed. "No doubt. I think that was my whole problem with potions. I never paid enough attention to what I was doing. So now I'm going to try and pay attention to what I'm doing. That way Snape won't have anything to complain about." He leaned closer to her. "I think it will be fun watching him try to come up with new and creative ways to criticize me."

Hermione chewed on her lip. "You seem really different today Harry."

He patted her arm. It's going to take some time before she's not worried about me anymore. "I feel really different. I feel good." Harry smiled and rubbed his neck. "Except for the crick in my neck of course." He shrugged. "I'm starting to feel like myself again."

---

We're almost to new story. Leave me a review.


	26. Mishel

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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Snape swept into the room. He sat in his usual seat, laughing with Granger. He made poison and he was laughing with his friends. The wonderful Harry Potter got away with something yet again. Let him laugh. There is only one poison that could be made without stealing ingredients to add to what he had during class. Nothing was missing from the stores. He wasn't supposed to know that that potion existed. Dumbledore wouldn't be able to turn a blind eye to this. He flicked his wand at the board. "Begin." He walked up and down the aisles. Gryffindors ducked their heads as he walked by. Fools. All of them. Let's see Potter's reaction when I demand the potion.

Fingers brushed up his back.

Snape froze. A Slytherin cauldron exploded and students rushed to get out of the way. He swept to the front and sat at his desk. Potter's eyes were locked on his. Those eyes full of terror as my hair brushed over his cheek. He dug his fingernails into his palm and wrenched his eyes away. He clenched his teeth. It wasn't real. It didn't happen. Potter was whispering to Granger, shooting him glances out of the corner of his eye. What did he see? Did he see the professor that made his life hell for five years or the man that--He ran his hand through his hair. This was stupid. It wasn't real. It was just the Dark Lord's attempt to break the boy. Go after his professors and he begins to feel as if he cannot trust anyone. He had seen worse than this before. He had DONE worse than this before. This was nothing. If the boy had been so panicked over this then he was just weak. He was a fool just like his father. He pushed away from his desk and stalked over to him. "Detention Potter."

"What?! I didn't do anything."

"And twenty points from Gryffindor for your insolence. You will be in this room at eight o'clock. Do not be late." His robes brushed against his ankles as he walked around the Slytherin side of the room. "Very good job Mr. Malfoy."

"Thank you Professor." Malfoy smirked across the room.

"Bottle your potions and put them on my desk." There was a great rush as students scurried to deposit their potions and bolt out of the room. Potter was shoving everything into his bag. He nearly shattered his bottle putting it on the desk. "Potter!"

Potter's thin fingers clenched into fists. "Yes Professor?" The room had cleared out.

He stood and moved forward until he was inches from the boy. "You will bring the poison you made with you and have an explanation for it."

Potter's eyes barely widened. His muscles were so tense that he began to shake. "Poison sir?"

"Yes Potter, poison. Which you knew very well."

The boy stepped back and pulled a vial out of his pocket. "I didn't know what it was. I couldn't figure out what I'd done wrong."

He snatched the vial out of the soft hands. He tightened his fingers around it. Enough! "You could not have made this by mistake and we both know it. You will be here at eight for your detention." He opened the cupboard and put the vial on the back shelf.

"But--"

"Get out!"

He jumped, grabbed his bag, and ran from the room.

The door clicked shut and he slammed the cupboard and clutched the edge of his desk, digging his fingernails into the soft wood. That insolent brat! Thinking he could act as if it had been an accident. The boy thought he was a fool. That somehow he would get away with things since he'd been--He swept the papers off his desk. Nothing! Nothing had happened to the boy. The images weren't even real. This could not continue.

He swept out into the corridor and down the hall to the painting leading to his rooms. "Mugwort." The painting swung open and he stepped in. The fire ignited in the fireplace as he walked into the living room. The flames illuminated the stained mahogany furniture upholstered in forest green and black fabrics. The far wall held floor to ceiling bookshelves. He ran his finger down the leather spine of _The Black Arts made Grey_ and tilted it toward him. The bookshelf moved back into the wall and then slid to the right. He stepped through the new entrance into his private potions lab. The walls had inset shelves all the way around filled with various potion ingredients. He pressed his hand against a bare section of stone. "Severus Snape." The wall grew warm then slid back to reveal his pensive. He took the bowl out and placed it on the table in the middle of the room. He pressed his wand to his temple and drew shimmering threads from his mind. The last memory flowed into the bowl and he put the bowl back in its place and moved the wall back into place. He left the potions lab calmly. The memories were gone. Only the bare knowledge of their existence remained. Not enough for anyone to get out of his mind. Not enough to distract him anymore. He returned to a classroom full of rowdy third years with no clue about the subtle art of potion making.

Harry slammed his books down on the table. "I can't believe he gave me detention. I didn't even do anything this time."

Hermione organized her things sitting on the desk. "He was acting odd. He didn't even react to the cauldron exploding. Maybe something's wrong."

Ron snorted. "Who cares if there's something wrong with that greasy git?"

Hermione shook her head. "I meant that maybe something went wrong with, you know, their plans or something."

Ron dumped his books on the table. "Oh. Well no one else seems worried at all. It's probably just Snape being a git."

Harry dropped into his chair. "I agree with Ron, but he was acting very odd." Not that he ever acts particularly normal but still. "He kept looking at me. I figured he was just waiting for the chance to take points, but then he took the points without me doing anything." Why was he looking at me?

McGonagall walked into the room. "Good morning class. Today we will be learning the theory behind human transfigurations. It is essential that you understand the concepts before attempting such a transformation to reduce the risks. I'm sure none of you want to spend a week in the hospital wing trying to recover your human forms." She walked over to the board and started writing.

Harry leaned his head on his left hand while he copied down everything on the board. Snape had been acting really weird. Maybe he remembered what he did--No!--what he saw. Stupid occulmency. No. He hadn't seen anything. I freaked out before he could have seen too much. He dipped his quill in the inkwell and moved on to the next line. Human transformations are not to be used as jokes or for fun when you are bored. Jeez. No kidding. Though it was funny when Moody changed Malfoy into a ferret. Too bad it wasn't actually Moody. I really did freak out with Snape. And Fudge. Stupid bastard. Magic and muggle drugs just don't mix. I didn't want to take those stupid pills when Dr. Williams gave them to me. I never did take them. Then suddenly I find out I'm coming back here and I'm popping them like candy. Maybe I wanted to be screwed up so they'd send me back. That's not going to happen. I know it's not going to happen. They won't let me go back there next summer either. I'm protected at the Dursley's. Too bad mom didn't have six or seven sisters. Maybe the odds of getting a good one would have been higher.

"Mr. Potter? Are you going to answer the question?"

Harry looked up. McGonagall had her arms crossed over her chest as she stood in front of him. "I--I don't think I fully understood the question. Could you please repeat it?"

She narrowed her eyes and took a step closer. "What must you be concentrating on for a human transformation to be successful?"

Harry chewed his lip. Professor Myer had taught the one transfiguration class he had been to. Then Biara had scheduled Dr. Williams during that time. What had she kept repeating? It had driven everyone insane. They'd been repeating it for weeks afterward. It's the means, not the end, which counts in transfiguration. That's what you kids never get. It's the means. "You have to concentrate on the spell itself and not what you're trying to do. The vision you have in your mind of what the spell is going to do may be different from what the spell actually does. If you only concentrate on what you think is going to happen then you might not get what you're supposed to."

McGonagall smiled and walked back to stand by her desk. "Exactly Mr. Potter. That is the most important thing in these transformations. Five points to Gryffindor."

Harry smiled and took down what she was saying. I can so do this.

The class flew by. "Guys, I want to stop by the owlery before lunch to send Cali another letter." He smirked. "She's probably frantically missing my presence."

"Sure Harry. I promised my parents I'd write after I got here but I haven't gotten the chance to send it yet. It's probably still in my bag." She searched through all the pockets in her bag.

"Harry?" Professor McGonagall walked over. "The Headmaster would like to have a word with you in his office."

Harry pulled his bottom lip between his teeth. "When?"

"Right now. I will accompany you."

He reached into his bag and pulled out an envelope. "Hermione, can you send this off with Hedwig?"

"Sure." She slipped it into the front pocket with her newly found letter. "I'll see you at lunch."

"Yeah." He picked up his bag and followed McGonagall out of the room.

The statue outside Dumbledore's office looked the same. Everything always looked the same no matter what changed.

"Snickerdoodle." The staircase rose. Harry jumped onto the stairs. It was like an escalator only it went in a circle. I wonder what possessed Dumbledore to have this as the entrance to his office. Sure it's nice not to have to walk up stairs if you're old, but wouldn't all the spinning make you dizzy? The stairs stopped and he knocked on the door.

"Come in Harry." He opened the door and sat in the chair in front of the desk. "How are you today Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm fine. The drugs are nearly out of my system so I'm feeling more like myself."

McGonagall sat in the chair next to him. This was not a good sign.

"So, I didn't attack anyone, I'm not taking drugs, and I don't think I've broken any rules that you've found out about yet, so why am I here?"

Dumbledore held out a dish. "Lemon drop?"

What the hell. Why not? Harry popped one into his mouth.

"Now Harry, Professor McGonagall came to me about something you did on the first day of class. It seems you performed a quite impressive feat of wandless magic."

"Huh? Oh. You mean making the entire box of mice invisible?"

"Yes. I was wondering if we should be concerned. If you are performing unintentional magic it could become dangerous."

How do you wave your arm over a box of mice and accidentally make them invisible? "It was intentional."

"Excuse me?"

Harry sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "It was intentional. It wasn't emotional magic. It was just wandless magic."

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and put another lemon drop into his mouth. "How did you come to learn how to control wand less magic? Few wizards can do it with any sort of accuracy."

"That's because everyone who has ever attended Hogwarts has learned to rely on their internal magic being amplified by the power of their wands to perform spells. Wandless magic is based on the magic in the outside world. They learn to do it at the Academy. They have a class on it, but there are few people who can actually use it. Though there are actually muggles that can use wandless magic. It's called Wicca and it's almost a religion. I studied it in one of my history classes. And let me tell you, muggle history, especially American muggle history is so much more interesting that wizard history. Did you know there was a South American civilization called the Aztecs that slaughtered thousands of people at a time? They sacrificed them to their gods."

"Harry." Dumbledore held his hands up.

I suppose that means I didn't manage to sidetrack him. I think I'm losing my touch. "Yes."

"You know that you cannot--"

"Use wandless magic in front of any students or even any people of dubious allegiance. I know. And the less people who know about it the better. I'm not a moron. A power that the Dark Lord knows not of. Duh. I'm not about to run around screaming 'I know how to defeat Voldemort.' I only used it in front of Professor McGonagall when no one else was in the room, in front of Snape although I didn't mean to do it that time, and one time in the bathroom."

Dumbledore tried to keep the smile off his face. "And what kind of wandless magic did you do in the bathroom?"

What kind of dirty thoughts is he having? Never mind. I really don't think I want to know. "I lit a circle of candles. It was just to release energy. The amount of natural magic just waiting to be tapped in this place is a little overwhelming at first but I've adjusted to it."

Dumbledore smiled. "Very good Harry. You have grown a lot in a short time. It is good to see."

"It's not like I had much choice." He waved his hands as Dumbledore opened his mouth. "I don't need any speeches. I'm over the fact that I'm an idiot. Now, no offense, but I'm going to lunch because I haven't eaten much this week and I'm starving. But could you do me a favor?"

"What Harry?"

"Get rid of the pills. I don't need them, but as long as they're here I'm going to want them. They're the easy way out. Mom would kill me if she knew I had them. So, if you could not tell her if you ever see her--"

"I thought you said she knew--"

Well then what I just said was stupid wasn't it? Damn. "She sent me to Dr. Williams. I sort of failed to tell her about the prescriptions he gave me." He waved his hands. "I know. That was stupid. Like I said. I'm over the fact that I'm an idiot."

Dumbledore stood. "You know Harry that if you ever need to talk both of us will be there to listen."

Harry picked up his bag and moved to the door. "I know. And no offense, but you have no idea about this. You don't know what I've lived through no matter how much you want to empathize with me. I'm not saying that to be mean, it's just the truth. Cali doesn't understand it either, but it's okay because she doesn't want to. I tell her my life sucks and she makes it her goal to find a movie or book with someone whose life sucks more. She's succeeded more than once. And she doesn't know about Voldemort. Not really. She doesn't see it like everyone here. To her he's another bad guy that will eventually get his ass kicked. Everyone here is so terrified of him that it feels like no one could ever possibly overcome him. He was gone for eleven years and people still cringed at his name. Hitler's name was spoken even as he slaughtered millions of people. She sees this so differently. And it's nice to be around people who don't know that Harry Potter is the boy-who-lived but also aren't afraid of getting the crap kicked out of them by my cousin if they speak to me." He rolled his eyes. "I'm getting all pathetic so I'm going to lunch." He shut the door behind him and ran down the stairs.

He grabbed a sandwich off the table and followed Hermione and Ron outside.

Ron shoved his last muffin into his mouth. "Is everything okay?"

Harry smiled. "Yeah. Everything's fine. Dumbledore's just worried about me like always. I told him I was fine and got to leave."

Hermione moved right next to him and whispered into his ear. "_Is_ everything okay?"

Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Yeah. It really is. You sent the letter off to Cali?"

"Yes. Can I ask why Cali has a ferret deliver her letters instead of an owl?"

Harry snorted. "She thinks owls are creepy. She insists that they won't stop staring at her. She really is a strange one." Strange huffing noises were coming from Hagrid's hut. "Uh oh. Do we know what we're doing today?"

Hermione sighed. "No. Sometimes I wonder why I continued with this class."

Hagrid stepped out of his door with a fuzzy creature the size of a puppy in his arms. "Good afternoon everyone. Today we will be studying a creature that currently only lives in our forest here. It's called a Peradu. It's like a dog only it has some odd magical properties. They're near extinct because they're empathic so everyone wanted one. They also have a mean streak if they don't like what they feel. You have your boss over to dinner and are mad that you didn't get a raise and your Peradu would attack. The poor creatures are so misunderstood."

"How do you gain their loyalty?" Harry cocked his head at the squished looking face and small pink tongue sticking out of the creature's mouth.

"Well that's the tricky part. They're loyal when you're kind to them, but that loyalty can fail if you are cruel or don't pay them enough attention. Many a wizard died by the claws of these, but it wasn't their fault that their owners didn't understand them. They were hunted nearly to extinction. Their numbers are growing now because they're protected in the forest. Now the main difference between normal dogs and a Peradu is that these sweet little creatures are vegetarians."

"That's good to know." Ron's voice luckily didn't carry.

Everyone sat on the grass and started taking notes. Hagrid set the Peradu on the ground and picked up the box of vegetables on the stairs and set it in front of it. The creature ignored it and wandered into the class. "Everyone keep still and think nice thoughts." Everyone edged away and Hagrid moved carefully towards it.

The Peradu started hopping forward and then dashed over and jumped into Harry's lap. It licked his hand, turned around, and lay down in his lap. Hagrid leaned down to pick it up and it growled. Hagrid pulled his hands away. "Harry?"

"I'm okay." Harry scratched the soft fur on its head. "Does it have a name?"

"I just got it from the forest an hour ago so no. Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine. What's its normal habitat? Does it live in caves or hollow trees or something?"

"They live in a bunch of different areas. It makes them harder to find." Hagrid went back to his lesson sticking close to Harry.

_"Warm."_

Harry looked down. The Peradu shifted closer to Harry's chest.

"You okay there Harry?" Hagrid looked ready to grab it.

"So they look like dogs, but are magical. Is there anything else that makes them different from dogs?"

"Well they're cold blooded. They stick together in their packs in the winter for warmth."

And the plot thickens. "So they're like snakes."

"Not really. There are a lot of creatures beside snakes that are cold blooded."

That's what you think. "Oh."

Hagrid moved toward the box of food, finally taking his eyes off Harry.

Everyone was looking at the food in the box as Hagrid explained what they ate.

He leaned down and hissed as softly as he could.

_"Hello."_

The Peradu raised his head. _"You speak us."_

I knew I wasn't imagining it. _"Yes. What's you're name?"_

_"I am called Mishel by my pack."_ Mishel lowered his head. _"My former pack."_

_"Why former? What happened?"_

_"Any who are caught by those outside the forest cannot return to their pack. We are cursed."_

_"But Hagrid will put you back in the forest."_

_ "And I will live as one cursed. Alone."_

I hope Hagrid didn't know that. _"But you're cold blooded. I mean, when the winter comes won't you die if you aren't with your pack?"_

_ "It will be my time to leave this world, as it is with all who are cursed."_

Hagrid came back over as everyone packed up. _"I have to go. I will come back and see you."_

Mishel pushed his head against his hand.

"It looks like you've found a friend Harry." Hagrid leaned down and Mishel climbed into his arms.

"Are you going to send him back into the forest?"

"Yes. That's his home. I don't want to take him away from his family." Hagrid scratched Mishel's head.

I won't let him die. "When?"

Hagrid shrugged. "Tomorrow I suppose. After all my classes are done learning about the little fellar."

"Can I come back and see him?" He scratched behind his ear and Mishel purred. Harry giggled. The dog just purred.

"Well sure. You can come back tonight."

Harry sighed. "I have detention with Snape."

"About the--" he glanced at the students around. "The you-know-what?"

"Yeah. I'll find some time to come." He gave Mishel one last scratch. "Good bye Hagrid. That was a great class." Harry ran to catch up with Hermione and Ron.

---

We're almost to new story. Leave me a review.


	27. Why you shouldn't get a tattoo

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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Charms held little challenge anymore. He got the spells almost as quickly as Hermione. He understood how magic worked more than ever. The class just dragged on. He closed his charms book and poked at his dinner.

"Are you okay Harry?" Hermione glanced up from her Arithmancy book.

Great. I'm not eating again. This is not going to stop them from constantly asking me if I'm okay. "Yeah. I'm not looking forward to detention though."

Hermione nodded and turned back to her book.

Harry played with the earrings in his pocket. The cold metal slid across his fingertips. If Snape knew he had them he might as well use his detention to keep his holes open. "I'd better get going." He picked up his bag and headed into the frigid bowels of the castle. Melodramatic once again. What to tell Snape about the poison? He didn't believe I made it on accident. That's not surprising. Last year I couldn't have made it on purpose. He couldn't know all the time I spent on potions this summer. He slid into an alcove, pulled his plain silver stud out, and slipped it into his ear. He took the ring and pushed it through his eyebrow. He checked the hallway and ran to the classroom.

-----

"Come in." Potter opened the door and closed it behind him. "Sit." Potter slowly lowered himself into the brittle wooden chair in front of his desk. His earrings were back in. "I see the holes in your head have returned."

"I didn't want them to close up." He was playing with the metal in his ear.

Severus leaned back in his chair. "I believe we are here to discuss the poison you made?" There is no way for him to get out of this one. He was chewing on his lip. No doubt trying to concoct some absurd lie.

"I saw the poison in Moste Potente Potions."

The truth. That is a new concept for wonderful Mr. Potter. "And how did you get hold of a book in the restricted section?"

"I saw the book this summer. Cali was making the potion on the opposite page."

He leaned forward in his chair, the leather creaking. He steepled his fingers. "And you felt the need to memorize it?"

The boy jumped up and paced back and forth in front of the desk, twisting his ring around his finger. "I only glanced at it. I didn't even remember it existed. Then suddenly I have this vial and the ingredients I remember putting in aren't the ones I was supposed to be putting in. I just figured it was the potion I made with Cali. I had to know what it was! And I'm quite aware that sneaking into the restricted section of the library in the middle of the night is stupid, but I HAD TO KNOW! I only touched the book I was looking for and I knew it wasn't going to bite me or scream. How was I supposed to know I made poison?!" The boy's hands were shaking. He started chewing on his thumbnail.

The boy had told him the truth. He admitted to breaking into the restricted section knowing very well he would be punished. There was something else going on here. "What are you leaving out?"

The boy froze and spun to face him. "What? Nothing."

"Fine. Then I shall inform the headmaster of your actions and he shall deal with you. Perhaps this will be the time he doesn't protect you." He stood and walked past the tables.

"I think it was Vo--Him."

There was a draft blowing under the door. "How?"

"The drugs I was taking plus the connection with Cali. I think they made it easier for him to get in my head."

He spun. "Imbecile!"

"No shit! You think I don't know this? You think I want him pushing me to make poison?"

"Then block him out!"

Potter crossed his arms over his chest. "You make it sound easy! It's not, okay? I was practicing all summer and I still can't stop it."

It's always the fault of someone else. He will never take responsibility for his own actions. "Well you must not have been practicing very hard."

"How the hell would you know? I worked with Mr. Teran every day. He actually tried to teach me how to do it instead of just breaking into my mind."

And we can see how successful that was, can't we? "Then why can't you do it?"

He was standing inches away from him, his glasses sliding down his nose. "Because I didn't have to hide what I didn't want him to see. He wasn't strong enough to force things to the surface of my mind. He couldn't break into anything I didn't want him to see." The boy was shaking, his eyes locked on his. There was something in his eyes. The boy was scared. That's not surprising. The man who killed his parents keeps breaking into his thoughts.

I despise being wrong. "You did not intend to make the poison?"

"No." The boy didn't drop his eyes.

"Very well." He stepped back and walked to his desk. He sat and took out the third year Ravenclaw homework. "We can resume your lessons tomorrow night after dinner." The boy didn't move. "Is there something else?"

"There--There's something I don't want you to see. Something you don't want to see."

He looked over and the boy backed up. "What is it that you don't want me to see?"

His breathing sped up. "It's--It's what he put in my head. The--the spell."

He had to bring that up didn't he? "And what exactly did he put in your head?" I doubt he'll tell me. I wouldn't tell me if I were in his position.

"Didn't I say I didn't want you to know? Can't tell you. Can't see." He broke off, mumbling and chewing on his thumb.

He's going to bite that finger off. He looks like he's very near to a psychotic break. But this will not help. This is perhaps the worst idea I have ever had. "I already know."

The boy froze and shifted his eyes. "You--what?"

"When you were in the hospital wing I extracted the images from your head."

Harry was backing up, fumbling with the doorknob.

He cast a locking charm and then a silencing charm. This could degenerate into quite a scene. What was wrong with the boy?

He was yanking at the door. He spun and his eyes darted around the room. Potter pulled out his wand and pointed it at him. "Pe--people know I'm here. If I don't come back they--they'll know where I was."

"Wh--" The boy thought he was going to--he had locked and silenced the room. Stupid. "Mr. Potter." This was tricky. "I would think it would be quite obvious that this situation is neither of our faults. I have placed these memories in a pensive and intend to ignore them."

"He keeps pushing it forward."

He stepped forward. Potter backed up and hit the wall. The boy was shaking. "Don't. I'll do something if you get too close."

He stopped. "Morganna's intrusion into your mind has failed?"

Harry chewed on his lip. "I don't think it's failed per say, everything is still a little fuzzy, it's like it's wrapped up in sheer fabric, but it's like you take this big thing and stick it in the middle of whatever I'm thinking of. I can't see it, but I know what it is. It's nearly impossible to push it out of my thoughts, no matter how hard I try and clear my mind."

I've never heard of anything like that. She could have damaged something in his mind. "Perhaps there's something that she missed?"

He wrapped his arms around his chest and shrugged.

"May I?" Potter backed up. He rolled his eyes. "I wish to attempt to see if I can discover the problem. A simple diagnostic spell."

He took a deep breath and nodded.

Severus muttered the words and swept the wand up, the blue light surrounding the boy and glowing brighter before flowing into his skin. Severus set down a piece of parchment and watched the quill scratch across it. It filled half the page, flowed halfway across another line, and fell to the desk. He scanned the list. What was this boy doing?

"Well?" Potter shifted.

"Come and see for yourself." He picked up the quill and dipped it into the inkbottle.

Potter took a deep breath and moved to stand next to him. "What is all that?"

Snape crossed out various sections. "Those would be your new holes and quite a substantial section that I believe can be attributed to your tattoo."

Potter wrapped his arms around his chest. "And the rest of it?"

Severus frowned. "There is considerable stress on your internal organs. I do not know what could have caused it."

Potter shrugged. "Probably the withdrawal."

"The what?"

"Some of the drugs I was taking are addictive in high doses."

Which shows that he knew exactly what he was doing. Let's see the Headmaster get him out of this one. "And why did you take them in high doses then?"

Potter shrugged. "Because I'm an idiot."

He's hiding something. The real reason he took the pills. He won't reveal it now. "What type of symptoms?"

"The usual. Sweating, shaking, moodiness, seizures--"

"Seizures!"

Potter jumped back and Severus clenched his fists.

He says that like it is not a big deal. Can he truly not understand the consequences of his action? "What is the likelihood of the seizures?"

"I don't know. I took at least four different drugs that screwed with my brain chemistry." He laughed. "Don't look so terrified. I told Dumbledore to chuck the drugs so I can't start taking them again. It's been four days since I've had anything and if I were going to start having seizures I would probably have had one already. Everything should be out of my system soon."

I suppose he could not be worried because he has already passed the point where side effects are likely to take affect. "How soon?"

"A few weeks."

A few--Severus hurled the quill to the desk. "Do you have any idea what could happen in a FEW WEEKS?! Your selfish actions could get you or others killed. Do you think of no one but yourself?"

"It hurt!" He pushed over the chair and tangled his fingers in his hair. "It hurt to breathe, it hurt to act like nothing was wrong; it just hurt!" Tears were slipping from his eyes. What was the Dark Lord doing to the boy? He was unraveling. "It was all in my head. I could feel everything. It was perfection. They ripped it away. Now I have nothing. She was in my head and I knew everything was okay. You took her away! She could be dead right now and I wouldn't even know."

He wasn't talking about--The severed connection with Morganna. Merlin! After everything else he doesn't know whether she is alive. She was the only one that was able to help him last time. If Voldemort found that out she would become a prime target. And Potter knows that. "Mr. Potter, I am sure Morganna is fine."

"But you don't know that! No one knows for sure. If anything happens it's all my fault. I was the one who went there. If they find out about it, it will be my fault! I can't--" He slid down the wall and hugged his knees.

He walked to the fire and threw in a fistful of powder. "The Academy."

Biara's head appeared in the fire. "Hello Sevie, what can I do for you?"

Oh yes, let's resurrect that horrid nickname. "Where is Morganna?"

"She's in her biology lab." Biara tilted her head. "Is that you back there Harry?"

"Yes Mom." He rested his chin on his knees. "Are you sure Cali's okay?"

Biara glanced at Severus before looking back at Potter. "I saw her ten minutes ago."

"And everyone is okay?"

"There isn't as much conflict without you, and Cali complains that she can't find anyone else to dress in drag to accompany her to see Rocky Horror, but everyone is adjusting to the new arrangement. How are _you_ doing?"

"I wasn't adjusting well, but I think I'm starting to fix things. But I'm always worried about what's going on there."

Biara's head disappeared form the fire. An arm reached through and dropped a stone on the floor.

Potter inched forward. "Is it a portkey?"

Biara sighed. "It's a worry stone Harry. Absolutely non-magical. Listen to me carefully. Non-magic. Do you understand me?"

Potter stared into the fire and picked up the stone. "Yes Mom. I understand perfectly. Thank you."

"Very good Harry. Stick to that and I bet you receive some cookies soon."

He stood. "I'd better go do my homework."

"Good boy. How's your history coming?"

"I finished. It was really interesting."

"I'll send the test off then. Have you decided what to take next?"

"Advanced biology I think. Or maybe psychology." He scrunched up his nose. "Maybe I haven't decided after all."

Biara laughed. "I'll send both and then if you get bored you can switch to the other."

"Thanks Mom."

"Anytime. Now off to your work. Goodnight sweetie. I have a few more things to discuss with Severus."

"Can--can I go Professor Snape?" Potter had the stone clutched in his fist.

Why do I feel I've just missed everything? "Yes Potter. Though we must deal with this."

The boy was staring at the stone smiling. "We can do occlumency if you want."

If I want? Biara was hiding a smile. Was she mocking me? "Tomorrow night then. In my office."

"Yes sir." He left calmly, shutting the door behind him.

He spun back to the fire. "What did you do to the stone Biara?" It has to be imbued with a calming potion or maybe a cheering charm.

"Nothing Severus."

She thinks that I'll just accept that? "Then why did it effect him like calming potion?"

Biara shrugged. As if she didn't know exactly what the answer is. She knows what she's doing. She always does. "His overuse of magic has opened his mind without his knowledge. Now that he knows he can close the doors."

How does she know that? "I see."

"Though occlumency would still be advisable to protect his mind directly."

How does she manage to dictate to me what she can't even levitate a feather? "Do you always know everything?"

Biara laughed. "I may be a squib Severus, but I know people. That boy is absolutely transparent once you get past his shell. All he wants is a little attention."

"Attention?! That boy gets nothing BUT attention. He's the bloody golden boy!"

"Not that kind of attention Severus. Would you want attention based on the fact that your parents were murdered before you were even old enough to be able to remember them? He has no one outside of the Hogwarts sphere."

"I suppose, but that boy gets everything he wants. He gets away with everything."

Biara shook her head. "And maybe he acts out to get attention and the fact that he gets away with everything just continues to prove that no one cares for his well being."

Severus scowled. "This is ridiculous. Mr. Potter's mental health is not my concern."

"Until he becomes your next master and you're on the ground kissing his robes."

Severus growled. "That is not funny."

"And the fact that he cast the Cruciatus curse last spring and has enough power to blow things up with his mind IS funny?"

Severus froze in the process of turning from the fire. "He cast what?"

"It's not so funny now is it? That boy is headed down a dark path and no one seems to be able to pull him back."

And you gave him the magic to fly down that path instead of walk. "Perhaps he shouldn't have been taught to blow things up with his mind!"

Biara's eyes flashed. "He always had the power Severus! Had he not learned to handle it he would have hurt people unintentionally when his emotions spiked. Would you rather have his cauldron blowing up and injuring students because someone made a stupid comment?"

Severus conjured a chair and sank into it. "Does the headmaster know he cast the spell?"

Biara sighed. "Albus knows a great deal that goes on. But I believe in this case he is in the dark. Harry and Bellatrix were alone in the lobby of the ministry when he cast it. The spell was largely unsuccessful if that makes you feel any better."

Severus shook his head. "That he was able to cast it at all terrifies me. The headmaster has to be told."

"He will do nothing. As he did nothing about everything else that happened that night. From the reactions of those you brought with you he didn't even tell his precious Order about Voldemort possessing the boy."

He pushed his hair back and clasped his hands behind his head. His fingernails dug into his scalp like dull pins. "Merlin." Why does everything always rely on me to fix it?

"He had the chance to talk though a lot this summer. Things are getting better. The mere fact that he is talking shows that he is better than he was at the beginning of the summer. Perhaps he has finally decided to face reality head on. I would ask you to at least attempt to not hurt the boy in occlumency. We don't want to hinder whatever progress he manages to make. Just teach him."

"I understand Biara. I will make the attempt. But what am I meant to do about all the rest?" I can't just let the boy get away with casting an unforgivable.

"Accept that there is nothing you can do except try to impress in him the end he is headed toward. And not by screaming at him hopefully." Biara glanced behind her. "I must go Severus. I have a meeting with the staff in a few minutes. Do not hesitate to call me if you need anything."

"You will contact me immediately if anything happens?"

She smiled. "As always Sevie. Good bye."

"Good bye." Her head vanished and the flames dropped. Severus sighed and collapsed back in his chair.

-----------

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione looked up as he hopped through the portrait hole.

"I'm fine. Snape and I screamed at each other for awhile." He flopped onto the couch next to her. "Then I talked to Mom and came back here. You'll be happy to know that I'm going to continue with occlumency. Oh! And Mom sent me a worry stone through the fire." He held out his palm. The blue stone was marbled with red, branching strips. "She said I'm relying too much on magic, so if you see me using unnecessary magic in or out of class I'd appreciate you smacking me or something." Hermione barely blinked. "Are you okay?"

She reached toward his face. Her fingers brushed his eyebrow. The skin shifted as she brushed the ring. "Snape pierced your eyebrow?"

Harry laughed. Hermione shifted away from him. He followed and put his arm around her shoulder. "I'm sorry. It's just--mental image of Snape doing body piercing."

Hermione covered her mouth. "Oh God." She laughed and brushed the ring again. "So when did you get it?"

"This summer. My ear too." He turned his head.

"Why?"

The common room was noisy. Everyone was avoiding work together. "Because I could. And don't look at me like I'm an insolent child." Hermione looked away. "I liked how it looked on other people, I had the money, and no one was going to stop me. Cali wanted me to pierce my tongue and I didn't. I thought about the consequences first. My having two piercings is not going to get me or anyone else killed."

Hermione shut her book. "Then why haven't you had them in?"

"I was sitting on the platform and I suddenly realized that I would have to answer billions of questions about it. I didn't feel like doing that so I took them out. I didn't know how to go back to wearing them."

Ginny flopped into the chair across form him. "Hey guys." She blinked and shook her head. "Wow. Harry, Mom is going to flip when she sees those." She laughed and leaned back. "I bet she blames Bill for his bad influence."

Harry crossed his arms and smirked. "Thanks Ginny. That makes me feel so much better." He grabbed the velvety pillow under his arm and threw it at her. She caught it, put it behind her neck, and relaxed back. "Thanks. So what were we talking about?"

Hermione sighed. "I'm just wondering what else is pierced." She looked him over.

He blushed and ducked his head. God, what does she think I pierced that she can't see? Ginny giggled. Hermione's eyes widened. "Merlin! What else?" Ginny stopped laughing.

What? "Nothing! I didn't--That's it."

Ginny stood and squeezed onto the couch on his other side. "Harry?"

He sighed. This is what I get for acting nervous. I might as well confess. "I--I kind of--tattoo." They are going to freak out. I bet Hermione's the one that wonders how I got it without parental consent.

"What?!" Ginny and Hermione both yelled. The common room fell silent.

Maybe they aren't going to be as logical as I thought. He grabbed them both and pushed them up the stairs. His room was empty. He pulled out his wand and cast a locking charm. "Need you scream like that?"

"What kind of tattoo Harry?" Hermione stood behind his trunk her hand in her pocket.

Ginny moved to the other side of Ron's bed.

"What are you--" I disappear and come back freaking out and say I have a tattoo. How stupid do they think I am? "Don't you think Madam Pomfrey would have noticed if I had the Dark Mark?"

Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at him. "Just to be safe maybe you'd better pull up your sleeve. Harry would never overdose on drugs or have a screaming fight with Snape and come back not even a little mad."

I'm not allowed to change and grow as a person? It's great to know she has such faith in me. "You think I'm some death eater taking polyjuice? Come on--"

"Your arm." Her arm was extended, fine tremors shaking her arm.

Fine. If this is what I have to do to prove something that should be obvious. He threw his robe on the bed and rolled up his sleeve.

Ginny pulled her wand out. She pressed her hand to her mouth, sobbing. Hermione lifted her wand higher. "Stupefy!"

Harry dodged and hit the wall. "Stop!"

"Who are you?!" Hermione kept her wand trained on him.

"What are you talking about?" His sleeve was resting below his elbow. A black semicircle peeked out from beneath the white shirt slipping back down his arm. His nails scraped his skin as he pushed the sleeve past his elbow. "Damn." When the hell did I draw that? Before dinner? Between classes?

Hermione took a step forward. "Ginny, get McGonagall."

"No." His wand slipped across his sweaty fingers and he tightened his fist. "You can't."

Ginny moved forward. "Give us one reason why. And drop the wand."

Harry tossed his wand on the bed. He licked his thumb and pulled it across the skull, black smears following his finger. It's marker. When did I have a marker with me? How did I draw it to look real?

Ginny's wand dropped a few inches. "How--what--"

As long as I don't tell them that I don't remember drawing it everything should be okay. "It's marker. I got bored and was drawing. I'm quite aware that I could have drawn something less disturbing, but I swear I just forgot it was there."

Hermione dropped her wand next to Harry's and flung herself into his arms. "I'm so sorry. It's just--you were acting so strange and then you say you have a tattoo and--"

"It's okay." Her robes were soft and tickled the inside of his elbow. "I'm quite aware I've been acting weird." Not Death Eater weird but when you're searching for an explanation I suppose you'd come up with some strange ideas.

Ginny leaned against his bed. "If that's not--you said you had a tattoo."

And still they don't forget about that. At least they aren't thinking about how I got it. "It--It's on my shoulder."

Ginny frowned. "I didn't see it on the train."

Harry opened his mouth and Hermione pulled away. "Why _would_ you have seen it Ginny?"

Ginny blushed. "I--he--"

Hermione spun and shoved him. "Ron is going to _kill_ you."

"I changed my shirt! Don't freak out." Why does everyone think I'm trying to get together with Ginny? Have I ever shown any interest in her before?

Hermione smirked. "Well then I guess you won't have a problem taking your shirt off now."

Hermione doesn't smirk. "What?" He backed into the door.

She shrugged. "I want to see the tattoo. Just--just to be sure."

Harry sighed. I'm never taking these stupid earrings out again if it's going to lead to all this. He undid the buttons, the plastic slipping across his fingertips. He pulled the shirt backward off his shoulders and tossed it on the floor, turning his shoulder toward them.

Hermione walked over, blushing, and ran her finger across it. "What does it stand for?"

"Life. The polar opposite of my tattooed enemies." So no more thinking I'm a Death Eater. I must remember to wash that off my arm.

"Did you get it the wizard or the muggle way?"

Harry winced. She's starting to think about how I got it. Bail out. "Muggle way. It took a couple of hours. It still doesn't come anywhere near Cruciatus though." He smiled. "Can we go do homework now?" That should distract her.

"Are you sure you're Harry?" Hermione giggled.

"Haha. I've got a history test coming soon. I want to make sure I'm caught up or even ahead." Homework and proof that I'm me. Though I don't suppose that last year Harry would have been taking extra classes.

"Well let's go. I was in the middle of reading for Arithmency." She stopped at the door. "Are you going to let me out?"

Harry grabbed his wand and broke the spell.

"Thanks. We'll be talking later about where all the muscles came from." She shut the door on Ginny's giggling.

Harry growled and grabbed her around the waist, tossing her on the bed. He jumped on top of her and dug his fingers into her ribcage.

She gasped and squealed. "No. No tickling." She was gasping for breath.

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall stood in the doorway, her mouth hanging open.

Why is it that people always walk in when I'm in bed with her? "Hello Professor. Can I help you?" See, I'm totally innocent here. Nothing to tell anyone else about or give me detention for.

She snapped her mouth shut and stared at him. He jumped off the bed, grabbed a white T-shirt out of his closet, and pulled it on. The fabric caught on his glasses. He tugged harder and pushed his glasses back up. Ginny slid off the other side of the bed and he pulled his robe back on.

McGonagall held out a brown box with a yellow envelope taped to the top. "This came to the headmaster for you. You are to return it to him when you are finished."

"Yes Professor." He took the box and hugged it to his chest.

"And there will be no incidents like this reported to me." She smiled. "So at least attempt to make it appear as innocent as I believe it is."

They smiled and Ginny giggled. "Yes professor." They followed her to the common room. Harry slid into the chair next to all of Hermione's books. He tugged the envelope off and moved the box to the side. He pushed the little metal pieces up and squeezed them together. He pushed the flap up and dumped everything on the table. There was a stapled packet, the first page covered in multiple-choice questions, a blue book, and a pen taped to an index card. _'This is a pen. Ohhhh. You can write with it. The ink is magically inside of it. Once you have finished your test you should take this pen, find a pureblood, and give it to them. They will be fascinated for hours. That is all. Cali'_ Harry smiled and uncapped the pen, pulling the packet of questions in front of him.

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Only one more chapter before new story. Leave me a review.


	28. Unbastardly

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am rewriting/adding parts of this story to improve it and get rid of inconsistencies. If you see any let me know. Tell me if it's improved if you've read it before. And if you're a 'virgin', so to speak, just drop a line and tell me how it's going.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time.

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Harry choked on his toast. Hermione smacked him on the back. He drank half his glass of water to get the toast down. "Ron that is not something you say when someone is eating."

"Why?" Ron was stuffing his face with scrambled eggs this morning.

"You don't just say, 'so I heard you aren't a death eater'. Especially not at breakfast."

"It's not like I said 'Harry Potter took the dark mark over the summer'."

Everyone around them froze and turned toward them. The other tables quieted as they tried to see what had happened. Ron's face flushed.

Harry laughed. "Sorry guys, just seeing who could come up with the most unbelievable announcement."

The Gryffindors didn't look convinced but they went back to eating and the rest of the hall followed their example, apparently deciding nothing of interest had occurred.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Let's all be glad that Harry's lying skills have improved or this could have turned into a very bad situation. Come on, let's get to Defense Against the Dark Arts since Harry hasn't managed to make it to that class yet." They picked up their bags and headed out of the hall.

Harry shrugged. "Who's the professor anyway? I wasn't paying much attention at the feast."

"Mr. Sartoris. He's really nice and he knows what's he's talking about." They walked into the classroom and sat in the front row. No one else was in the classroom.

"Well aren't you kids early. I love the get up and go attitude. And is this the student who has yet to make it to a class?" He walked to his desk and set his papers down.

"Yes Mr. Sartoris. This is Harry." Hermione had a big smile on her face.

Harry tilted his head to the side. Crew cut blond hair, brown eyes. Take away the accent and the glasses and you get--Ichy! Holy crap. Mr. Self Defense himself was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. He doesn't look like he recognizes me. I suppose I don't have my hair spiked anymore and he sure looks different wearing robes than he does wearing jeans. Perhaps a nickname joke is in order? "I just felt as if my head were going to fall off, so to speak, so I had spent quality time with the hospital wing."

Mr. Sartoris raised his eyebrow. "Indeed?"

And we have recognition of too many hours spent in front of the television. "Very Teal'c of you sir. Your accent is kind of creepy though."

He laughed. "As is yours Mr. Potter. I do trust you can keep your non pierced tongue quiet?"

This is going to be a great class. "I'm quite sure."

Other students filed into the room. Ichy walked to his desk and leaned back against it.

Hermione leaned over. "What was that about?"

Oops. "I--" Let them freak out about something else or keep my mouth shut? "I met him in Dumbledore's office and we had a very odd conversation. I just didn't know he was the new defense professor." Are you actually going to buy that? That's the worst excuse I've ever made up.

"Oh." Hermione pulled her parchment and ink out of her bag.

Ichy started class, obviously continuing the topic of last class. "Now we've spent the last few classes reviewing what you've learned through your varied defense career. I got some interesting reports back from you of what you learned last year. All the essays seemed to agree that you learned nothing last year. Would you like to add anything Mr. Potter? Did you happen to learn anything?"

"I learned that if you tell the truth you bleed." Why can't I ever keep my mouth shut?

"Ye--What?" He froze in the middle of turning and looked back.

He never did believe me when I told him about my professors. If I say it now and no one disagrees with me then he'll have to believe that I'm telling the truth. Perhaps not. "Not important. Let's see, let's see, what did I learn? I learned that bad people who make you miserable get there's in the end." He laughed. "Maybe they'll even put her in St. Mungos with Lockhart."

Ichy blinked. "Lockhart?"

"Second year defense professor. Obliviated. Totally not my fault."

"You obliviated your defense professor?"

Believe me now? "Yes, but you'd think you'd be more worried about the one that's dead and the one lacking a soul."

Ichy lowered himself into his chair. "Lacking a soul?"

"Dementor's kiss." Harry shivered. "Nasty way to go."

Ichy squinted. "That's four. What about the other one? Or don't I want to know?"

Harry sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I killed his best friend."

Ichy picked a folder off his desk and stood. "This term we are going to be studying defense techniques. We will continue to learn various spells and charms to confront attackers and to run away. Anything you should have learned before will be filled in. I have also gotten permission from the headmaster to start up a little club to teach those who wish to learn wand less defense."

"Why would we want to lean that?" Malfoy sneered.

"Expelliaramus!" Malfoy's wand flew into Ichy's hand. "What are you going to do now Mr. Malfoy? How are you going to defend yourself? Well Mr. Potter, what would you do? How would you get the wand back?"

You can't ignore the truth forever. "I'd kick you in the stomach, when you bent over I'd elbow you in the kidney's, grab the wand and run."

Ichy tossed the wand back to Malfoy. "And now we see why Mr. Potter is still alive and his defense professors seem to have paid the price. Any muggleborn students in the class are greatly encouraged to pray for me and light a candle in my name. Last class we learned how to repel your opponent. After learning that you have to learn to attack them. Sometimes running isn't an option."

Harry copied down the spells as fast as Ichy could spit them out. By the time class ended Harry had filled his parchment.

Ichy dropped his notes onto his desk. "Mr. Potter, if I could have a word with you?"

"I'll meet up with you guys at lunch." Harry packed his bag as the class cleared out.

Ichy slammed his fists on the desk. "Pull another stunt like that Harry and you'll regret it."

He flinched and moved back. "I'm sorry, but I told them I'd met you in the headmaster's office. They don't know you're from--"

He grabbed Harry's robes and pulled him within an inch of his face. "You did not kill anyone."

Harry slammed his knee into Ichy's groin then knocked his feet out from under him. Ichy hit the floor. He knelt down next to the man trying to pull air into his lungs. "Just because no one wants to believe I'm capable of that doesn't mean that I'm not. It's not my fault that no one can see the truth. More than one person is dead or permanently harmed because of me. Get used to it." He grabbed his bag and walked out.

"Are you okay Harry?"

He sat and patted Hermione's hand. "I'm fine. He just wanted to make sure I asked someone about what I'd missed."

"Oh. Okay. I'll give you my notes later. We talked mostly about what we learned in the last five years."

"Thanks." He bit into his sandwich.

"Mr. Potter." Dumbledore stood behind him.

How does he find out about these things so quickly? And anyway, why has he brought an Academy defense teacher and a six-year-old to Hogwarts? "Yes?"

"We need to speak in my office."

I don't want to. I did nothing wrong. And if he can't defend himself against me, what choice does he have against someone that wants him dead. I just showed him he always has to watch his back here. I should get points or a medal or something. He sighed. "I have Herbology. Since I haven't made it to a class yet it would be nice if I went today."

Dumbledore nodded. "We shall speak after class then. The password in gummi bears." He walked up to the head table and sat down calmly, laughing at something McGonagall told him as he spooned mashed potatoes onto his plate.

"What was that all about?" Ron actually swallowed before asking.

I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't--I just did what he always taught me to get out of a situation you aren't comfortable with. "No idea. We'd better get to class."

Ron and Hermione looked toward each other.

Are they going to partner with each other and leave me on my own? "What?"

Hermione shrugged. "Well I'm in a higher level Herbology class."

Ron nodded. "And I'm in a lower one."

Hermione shrugged. "There are different levels based on your O.W.L scores and Professor Sprout's recommendations."

Even an outstanding O.W.L. didn't keep me together with my friends? "So I'm on my own?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry Harry."

Harry shook his head. He had to go to class alone. That had never happened before. "I can deal with one class without you guys, right?"

Hermione smiled. "Right."

I can do this. It's fine. I'll probably know someone in the class and I can get the notes from them. "I'd better go. Bye guys."

"Bye Harry."

He headed out to the green houses. Neville wasn't there. He was probably in the higher level with Hermione. "Well well, if it isn't perfect Potter. Doesn't even get in trouble for knocking a professor to the ground." Malfoy strode up to the door where Harry stood.

Was he even in the Defense class with me? I didn't even bother looking at who else was in the room. I'm going soft. Wait, duh. Ichy took his wand. Maybe that temporary memory loss side effect is still happening. Damn. "You squealed on me to Dumbledore? That's pathetic."

Malfoy snorted. "You can't get out of this one. I saw the whole thing."

He didn't come after me to confront me with it and try to blackmail me. He went to _Dumbledore_. Maybe he's getting less horrible. Maybe not. Harry rubbed his forehead. I'm just so tired of fighting with everyone. I can't even keep track of the lies anymore. "Well then you saw him grab me. After four out of five years when the defense professor was after me I can't be blamed for overreacting. Overreaction is preferable to death." He can't push me around. I want to stop fighting, not getting stepped on because I just refuse to fight. "You can't touch me Draco, so give up trying. I can get out of anything." He smirked as Professor Sprout walked up, preventing Draco's reply.

"Well Mr. Potter, I trust you are feeling better? Did you do the reading about the plant we will be working with?"

"Much better. Thank you. And yes. I finished the reading." Thank goodness I did all reading. I haven't seen anyone I know yet. I guess I'll be going without the notes from what we did last week.

She smiled. "We will be working in pairs this term. You will be paired up with Mr. Malfoy."

Harry sighed. "I would expect nothing less." It's the game of how long before we kill each other.

Professor Sprout coughed covering a smile. "Yes. Well." The last members of the class had gathered outside of the greenhouse. "Now class. Today we will be working with the rare specimen of Hemlock that we learned about last class. We are trying to harvest the berries for Professor Snape's use, so be careful. They are poisonous, but only the thorns at the base contain the poison. Find your partner and get to work." The class fragmented, entered the greenhouse, and went to stand in front of the plants. "I'll be staying with you two for a while since Mr. Potter wasn't here last class." She gestured them over to the plant on a table against the wall.

Harry pulled on his dragon hide gloves. "Where did this species come from?"

"Mr. Malfoy, be careful of those thorns. They are very close to you wrist right now. " Draco dropped a berry in the dish next to the plant. "I'm not sure where this particular species came from. Professor Snape gave me the cutting, but he refused to say where it came from."

I'm sure he did. I wonder if it's even legal? And you're not telling me the truth. You have to know everything about the plant or you wouldn't even thinking of teaching it in class, but I'll play along. "Well it has to be English at least." He pulled off a few berries and set them in the dish without denting any of them.

"Why is that Harry?"

"The American species of Hemlock isn't poisonous. Though I guess it wouldn't have to be English. It had to be poisonous in Greece as well, unless they mixed something with it."

"What are you going on about Potter?" Draco pushed his hair out of his eyes.

What am I doing? Why can't I keep my mouth shut today? Maybe I'll just explain it. People that don't hate each other explain things. "Socrates. He was executed by drinking Hemlock."

Draco stared at him. "Who?"

See? I explain things and then he asks questions. No cutting comebacks. This isn't so bad. "Socrates. He was a philosopher in Ancient Greece. He was searching for the right way to live and was a mentor to Plato who wrote dialogues in which Socrates was always the main character. He wrote the transcript for Socrates' trial called the Apology and one about Socrates while he was in prison called the Crito, and Socrates' death scene called the Phaedo." Draco's eyes were staring at him unblinking. "And you have no idea what I'm talking about. I guess it's not something they bother to teach wizards. It's too bad, its kind of boring but nowhere near as bad as Aristotle." He pulled off another four berries.

Professor Sprout smiled and patted Harry on the back. "Well you seem to be getting along well Harry, so I'll go make my rounds of the class." She walked toward Seamus and Dean who seemed to be arguing over who was going to touch the plant. Did Dumbledore put her up to pairing Draco and I?

"Why exactly do you know all this pointless information?" Draco dropped a second berry into the bowl.

"One, knowing that a plant is not poisonous in a different country could help when or if you go to that country. Two, I had insomnia. Someone suggested reading philosophy to help put me to sleep. Unfortunately it didn't work so I just know a lot about philosophy."

Draco pulled off a few berries. "Why didn't you just take a sleeping potion?"

Harry smiled. "Why Draco is that concern I sense? I'm touched."

Draco snarled. "Kiss my arse Potter."

Harry smirked and went back to the berries. "Much better. Reality is reasserting itself."

-----

Harry knocked on Hagrid's door.

The door swung open and Hagrid smiled. "Hello 'arry. Come to see the little fellar?"

"Yes." Harry walked inside. Mishel was hopping around in a circle by the fire. "What's he doing?"

Hagrid tilted his head and frowned at the Peradu. "I'm not sure."

"Hagrid?" Dumbledore stood in the doorway.

Hagrid turned "Hello professor. What can I do for you?"

"Professor Sprout believes that there are snakes terrorizing greenhouse five. I wondered if you could lend a hand with removing them." Dumbledore's eyes were sparkling again.

"Of course. I'll be back soon, all right 'arry?" He clapped Harry on the shoulder.

I'll be on my own and free to talk with Mishel. Score! "Yes. I'll be fine."

Hagrid and Dumbledore set off across the grounds toward the greenhouses.

Harry sat on the floor and spread his robes across his lap.

Mishel hopped over and curled in his lap. 'Good. Warm.'

'It's too cold for you?'

'It soon will be. When I am returned to the forest it will end.'

'I won't let that happen.'

'There is nothing you can do. It is how things are.'

'What if I take you to live with me?'

'Can you do that?'

Harry bit his lip. I can't lie to him. He may not be human but it's not my place to lie about his future. 'I'm not sure. They would probably find you and send you back into the forest.'

'Then I would rather simply go into the forest.' Mishel hopped down and ran toward the open door.

'Wait! I could--I could send you somewhere safe where you can live.'

Mishel turned and sat on his back feet. 'Where?'

Hagrid stomped up the stairs and picked him up. "Little fellar trying to get away? Don't worry little one. You'll be home soon."

Damn. "I'd better go. I have to finish my work before dinner." Mishel squirmed in Hagrid's arms. Harry closed his eyes as he turned and walked back toward the castle. I will save him. I have to.

The Great Hall was noisy. Harry walked past the tables and stood in front of Dumbledore. He held out the envelope.

"Done already?" His smile rivaled the twinkle in his eyes.

"Multiple choice and two essays about Etruscan religious rites and Incan human sacrifices. It was simple."

Dumbledore raised his eyebrow. "Really?"

At least its more interesting learning on my own then listening to Binns drone on forever. "I am now well versed in mainstream and obscure history."

"And what have you learned from all this?"

Harry tilted his head. What was the overall truth you could take from history? "People are odd, sometimes cruel, and the bad guys ultimately lose."

"That is heartening."

Heartening? It's proof that there have been evil men before that have been overcome. That Voldemort, like them, can be defeated. "Yeah. It kind of is. You'll send it back?"

Dumbledore inclined his head. "I will."

"Thanks." He ignored the clattering of bowls colliding and forks scraping against plates. He slipped back into his spot at the Gryffindor table.

Ron squinted at him.

"What?" Harry filled his plate with lumpy potatoes and pork chops.

"You're smiling."

Am I? "I'm happy. Is there a problem with that?"

"No! No, it's just--nice to see."

Harry smiled wider and stuck a forkful of potatoes in his mouth.

Hermione laughed and messed up Harry's hair. Harry pushed her back. "Back woman or thou shalt be tickled."

Hermione giggled. "So, what about these muscles of yours?"

"What muscles?" Ron mumbled past a mouthful of potatoes.

Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry laughed. "I did some weight training, self defense classes, and gymnastics."

Ron swallowed. "What's gymnastics?"

Harry sighed. "It's kind of hard to explain. I was going to head to the Room of Requirement after classes tomorrow to stretch and work out. My muscles are all tense and weak from spending so much time sitting in bed in the hospital wing. Why don't we go after dinner and I'll show off? I have all this excess energy to burn off since I'm eating normally again."

Hermione frowned. "Don't you have homework to do?"

"I've been doing nothing but homework since I left the hospital wing." He grimaced at Hermione's glare. "All right. How about half an hour and then homework?"

Hermione smiled. "Oh Harry, I'm so proud of you. You're delegating your time."

Ron snorted and Hermione glared at him. Ron rolled his eyes. "Well the let's go so we can hurry back to our work."

They stood and walked out. When they turned the corner they ran, pushing each other to make it first up the stairs.

"Ten points from Gryffindor." Snape stood at the top of the stairs, arms crossed across his chest. "Running in the halls? Shameful behavior for the Gryffindor perfects."

Harry smiled. "Sorry professor. We were going to have half and hour of fun before finishing our homework."

Snape glared at him. "We had a meeting Potter."

Harry squinted. "We did?" He smacked his forehead. "Oh! I was so spaced out when I agreed. Is there any way we can reschedule? I don't really feel like doing it right now. Too many emotions swirling in my head."

"Harry!" Hermione smacked his arm. "If you had a meeting you should go."

Snape crossed his arms over his chest. "Is not the entire point to clear your mind of emotions?"

Harry sighed. There goes talking Hermione into letting me spend a few hours practicing. "All right, but I'll need to get rid of some of my energy first or it will be a waste of time for both of us. I was headed to the Room of Requirement to do gymnastics."

Snape raised his eyebrow. "Well that is something I must see. Go on."

And now Snape is watching me to see if I cheat before we do occlumency. That is if he knows that I know that a calming potion would increase my success exponentially. Ron choked and Harry laughed and pulled him and Hermione forward. The hallway in front of the nonexistent door was empty. Harry walked back and forth and pulled the door open. On one side of the room were a vault, high bar, and parallel bars. On the other side was a floor mat. He smiled. "Perfect." He undid his robes and tossed them in the corner. He sat down and started stretching.

Hermione wandered around the room. "You're sure you're not going to get hurt?"

He stood and walked to the high bar. She really has no faith in me. Then again, it's easy to get hurt doing this stuff. "I know what I'm doing." He coated his hands in chalk and jumped to the bar three or four feet taller than he was. He adjusted his hands and started swinging.

-----

The boy was flipping around the bar, twisting and flying over it before spinning in the air and landing on his feet.

"Wow." Miss Granger's mouth was hanging open. Potter ignored her, flipping over and walking forward on his hands. He dropped his feet to the floor and pulled himself upright. He ran halfway across the mat and flipped end over end across the blue carpet. He stood up and stretched his arms over his head.

"Bloody hell." Granger elbowed Weasley in the stomach.

Potter grinned. "I love that." He wiped sweat out of his eyes. He grabbed his robe off the floor and pulled it back on. "I'm ready now. I managed to dissipate most of my extra energy."

Severus nodded and turned to leave the room.

"I'll see you guys in the dorm."

"Okay Harry." Granger grabbed Weasley and pulled him from the room.

Potter followed them out and headed to the dungeon.

-------

The stone floor scraped against his palms. Harry shook his head.

"Mr. Potter, positive emotions will leave your mind open in the same way negative emotions will. You must clear your head of ALL emotions."

It doesn't make any sense. "But that's what I don't understand. Wouldn't emotions fill my head and keep you from getting to my memories? I see an empty mind like an empty room. It's easier to search an empty room than one filled with people."

Snape dropped his wand on his desk. It rolled forward and stopped against an inkbottle. "When you recall a memory what do you remember?"

Harry squinted. "I--uh--I remember what happened."

"What an astounding insight Mr. Potter. Think of a memory outside Hogwarts." Snape's fingers were curling into fists.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on his first day of primary school.

"What were you wearing?"

He chewed on his lip. No doubt clothes to big for him.

"What did you eat that day?"

He scrunched his forehead. Had he eaten that day?

"What were you feeling?"

Terrified. Harry opened his eyes. "It's our emotions we remember, so our emotions are our memories."

"Yes. Mr. Potter."

"So when I'm mad I connect my mind to all my memories where I'm mad?"

"Are you ever just mad, or are there other emotions connected with it?"

Oh. "You can be guilty for being mad at someone, betrayed by whoever you're mad at, happy that you don't have to hold your emotions in any more. So all emotions are connected and any emotion can link them all together and make them easy to access."

"Yes Potter."

Harry rubbed his head. "I think I need to absorb that before I can try to get this."

Snape raised his eyebrows. "You don't want to plunge forward until you end up in the hospital wing?"

Harry pushed himself off the floor and wiped his hands on his robes. "Huh. Maybe I did learn something important this summer."

Snape clenched and unclenched his jaw. "How are you doing?"

Snape just asked me how I was. "I'm all right. Everything is working itself out. My classes aren't as hard anymore, I think my claustrophobia is gone, and I'm not freaking out at random moments." He played with his stud. "Sir, um, not that it's bad, but why are you being so, um--"

"Nice?"

"I was thinking of unbastardly, but I was trying to find something that was actually a word."

Snape glared. "Biara."

Harry let out his breath. "Good. That's much less disturbing then thinking you were just being nice for no reason." He hid a smile. "I'd better go do my homework."

Snape gestured him toward the door. "Shall we meet again tomorrow after dinner?"

"Yes sir. I'll try not to forget tomorrow." He shut the door and ran toward the tower.

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Next chapter—NEW CONTENT!! Leave me a review.


	29. Happy Happy Halloween

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I know it's been forever since I've posted. But here's what I've done for you. The following is a nice long chapter that isn't just filler material. It's the good stuff that I've been waiting forever to post.

And here's the scoop. I rewrote the first 28 chapters. Billions of inconsistencies are gone. The first three are nearly triple the size they were. The later chapters, 26 to 28 especially, aren't as different, but I did change some things. It's much improved if I do say so myself, so on a bored day you can go back and enjoy.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time. I have it written out so I just have to take the time to type it.

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Harry slipped into Gryffindor tower and headed up the stairs to bed.

"You all right Harry?" Ron sat on his bed with his History of Magic book resting in his lap.

"Yeah. I'm all right. I have another Occlumency lesson tomorrow night." Harry stripped off his clothes and pulled on his pajamas. Harry smiled. Dumbledore didn't even mention that he wanted to talk to me when I gave him the test at dinner. Maybe he talked with Ichy and everything is all sorted out? That would be nice. Oh well. I guess I'll find out on Thursday. "Goodnight Ron."

Ron sighed and looked at his book. "Lucky you. Goodnight Harry."

Harry slid under his covers and put his glasses on the table. Everything would turn out okay. If the whole 'being kind to Draco' plan worked out the year could pass in relative peace and quiet. I won't have to worry about everything. I could start acting like my new self little by little until everyone was used to it. I wouldn't have to hide anymore. Everything would be fine and then on break he could visit with Cali and the others. He wouldn't have to lose anything. Harry smiled and moved farther down the bed, pulling the covers up to his chin. I'll start work on psychology tomorrow. Cali insisted that psychology would explain why people acted in certain ways. It should help me to understand Draco. Then I'll know how to stop the immature mocking that we can't seem to escape. Harry shrugged and closed his eyes.

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The greenhouse was filled with the cloying scent of mandaren trees.

Professor Sprout clapped her hands. "Now today we will be feeding the mandaren trees. Remember what we've learned. Mash the fruit and place it above the roots. The trees will absorb the juice through the soil."

Harry dropped the orange wedges into the mortar and started smashing them.

Draco dropped grapes into his mortar. "What was the best present you ever got?"

Harry poured the mush onto the soil, wiping the sticky juice off his fingers on the towel next to the pot. "What?"

"Well, we've been acting nice to each other for almost two months now. I haven't called anyone a mudblood lately. Don't I get to ask a question?" Draco smashed the grapes, turning them to juice.

Harry slid the bowl away from him and poured it on the soil. "Well the invisibility cloak was pretty good." I'm trusting Draco with a huge secret. A few months ago I never thought that would be possible.

"What?!" Draco dropped the cherries he was holding in his hands. They hit the floor and rolled into Harry's foot.

Harry smirked and picked them up, dropping them in a bowl. "Why don't you attract a little more attention Draco?"

Draco scowled at the people looking over. He slid closer and grabbed the bowl, mashing the fruit. "Who gave you an invisibility cloak?"

Harry shrugged. "I never found out for sure. The card wasn't signed. Whoever my Dad left it with I guess."

"It was your Dad's?"

Harry sneezed. The air was disgustingly sweet. "Yeah." Would he actually try and find out whom the cloak came from? I guess it's time to change the subject. "Though I think the very best present I ever got was the photo album of my parents. Hagrid gave it to me at the end of first year."

Draco snorted. "You didn't have enough pictures already?"

Harry poured the mush on the second plant. "I didn't have any."

Draco stopped smushing the cherries. "Why not? Didn't your relatives have pictures?"

"Not that I've ever seen." How much should I share? He probably won't believe what my relatives are really like even if I tell him everything, so I really have nothing to lose. "If my aunt had any she probably burned them."

Draco stared at him. "Why?"

Harry shrugged and grabbed strawberries out of the pile. "My aunt wasn't exactly happy with my mom's choices."

Draco tilted his head to the side. "She didn't want your Mom to marry your Dad?"

Harry snorted. "That's the least of it. She didn't want my Mom to be a witch."

Draco's mouth dropped open. "What?"

Harry scowled. "It was freakish behavior. Shameful. I really don't think they were speaking when my parents were killed. As far as I know they never saw me before I was dumped on their doorstep."

"Dumped--what?"

Harry smashed a strawberry, the outer skin splitting as the pedestal broke through. "It's October, so obviously it's not warm out, there are still Death Eaters running around who are pissed I've vanquished their master, and Dumbledore leaves me on a porch all night. Doesn't that seem just a little stupid?"

Draco grabbed the bowl and poured the juice on a plant.

Harry ran his hands through his hair. "Sorry."

Draco shrugged. "I'd probably be pretty pissed too." He cleaned out the bowls and stacked them. "Why did you start being nice to me?"

"Why did you respond to my being nice?" Harry picked up his bag.

Draco shrugged and pulled his bag over his shoulder. They followed everyone else out of the greenhouse and headed across the grounds.

Harry sighed. "I spent the summer liking everyone around me. I found I liked not having to hate anyone. I didn't want to go back. Plus, I finally realized that the reasons I had for hating you weren't as important as I thought before." He walked onto the quittich field and sat.

Draco lowered to the grass next to him. "Why--why did you hate me?"

Harry threaded his fingers through the grass. "When did we first meet?"

Draco looked at him, waiting for the punch line, then rolled his eyes when it didn't come. "We met on the train." He grimaced. "I told you that you didn't want to make friends with the wrong kind of people. I was a pompous little brat, wasn't I?"

Harry coughed. "You aren't still?" He ducked Draco's smack. "But we didn't, meet on the train that is. We were getting fitted for robes at Madam Malkin's. You said that they shouldn't let kids in that didn't know that Hogwarts existed until they got their letters."

Draco pulled his knees toward his chest. "I don't even remember that. I certainly didn't know that it was you." He snorted. "If I had known it was you I probably would have tried to charm you into being my best friend." He sighed. "But so what? One comment and you hate me?"

"I'd never heard of Hogwarts before I got my letter. I didn't know anything about the wizarding world. I thought my parents had died in a car accident."

"What? Why?"

"Because that's what I was always told. I'd only known about magic for a few hours. Hagrid storms into the house, threatens my uncle, and takes me to Diagon Alley to buy my school supplies. My relatives dropped me off at the train station, laughed at me because there wasn't any platform 9 ¾, and then drove off and left me there alone. I had no idea how to get to the platform. Mrs. Weasley helped me. You pretty much managed to insult the only people that had ever been nice to me."

Draco laughed. "I really did everything in my power to ensure you'd hate me, didn't I?"

Harry smiled. "Pretty much." Hedwig landed on his shoulder and held out her leg. Harry untied the letter.

"Who's it from?" Draco tried to peek over his shoulder.

Harry smiled at the return address. "It's from one of the guys I stayed with this summer."

"You didn't go home?"

"For like a week. I kind of freaked out. So, I got to go somewhere fun, and before you ask I've sworn not to tell where I was."

Draco sighed. "Fine. What does this person have to say?"

Harry pulled the page out. The ragged edges ripped from a spiral notebook snagged on the envelope. The page reeked of Calvin Klein cologne. He scanned the page. "Nothing much. It's dreadfully boring without me there. He's in the running for the most explosions in the potions lab. It seems that Chris is announcing that he's going to challenge my jurisdiction so he can sanction me for random acts of magic when he gets bored at the office. It's just the usual stuff."

Draco sputtered. "That's usual?! And who's Chris?"

"Chris is my friend's dad. He likes to try and get stupid laws and acts passed and then use them as examples of what's wrong with the system."

Draco laughed. "That is quite possibly the most insane thing I have ever heard."

Harry laughed. "And that's Chris." He fell backward and relaxed against the ground.

"How does he pass laws? Does he work in the ministry?"

Harry sighed. And the honesty fails. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted. "It's a little complicated. I can't really explain. Sorry." He glanced at his watch. "I have to go. I have extra psych work to do." He waved away Draco's confused work. "It's a muggle subject. I got some extra stuff so I could actually be able to survive in the muggle world if I need to. I'll see you in class Draco." He pushed himself to his feet and headed back to the castle.

Harry climbed through the portrait hole. Ron grabbed his arm and yanked him up the stairs. He had to catch himself on his hand as an overenthusiastic pull from Ron sent him diving toward the chilled stone stairs. He pushed Harry into the room and locked the door.

Hermione perched on the end of Ron's bed, her feet resting on the trunk. The low wind pushed against the window.

What did I do? I've been acting normal, slowly acting more like my summer-self and no one has acted like it was strange. "Guys? What's wrong?"

Ron paced next to his bed. "Why are you being so friendly with Malfoy?" He shoved Harry backward.

He clenched his fists around the black fleece blanket to catch his balance. He relaxed back onto the bed to remove Ron's tendency toward violence. This was really about Draco? Of course. Ron's hatred toward Draco was near legendary. I just have to calm him down. Explain things clearly. "I was tired of treating him like the devil incarnate." He fought to keep his voice steady. He slipped his hand into his pocket and curled his fingers around the marble. The cold seeped into his fingers and traveled up his arm.

"He is! How can you just talk to the bloody git after everything he's done?! You never care about anyone but yourself. After what Draco's done to Hermione how can you just act like nothing has happened?!"

He ripped his hand out of his pocket and threw himself off the bed. "How can I talk to you like nothing's happened?! How can I forget that when it's me against the world you're likely to side with the world and not believe me when I tell you I didn't do it?!" The door slammed against the wall the wood cracking down the center.

Hermione's hands shook. "Harry, we just wanted to understand. You've been through a lot. We were just worried."

The smell of cherries wafted past him and he took a deep breath. "We're partners in Herbology. I treated him like a person and he did the same. It's not like we're sleeping together."

Ron choked and stumbled back into the bed. "What?!"

Harry sighed. Does he ever listen to me? "I said we're _not_ sleeping together Ron."

"Why would you even say that? You're not--are you--oh bloody hell." Ron dropped down next to Hermione.

Harry picked up his bag again. "I'm not, but if I was I certainly wouldn't tell you." He walked out. He walked into the common room and it exploded with activity. Maybe they'd been louder than he'd thought. He left the tower and headed down the stairs. He turned left and followed the twisting hallways into the dungeon. He rubbed his head as he knocked on the door to Professor Snape's office. Class should have ended long enough that he should be back here by now.

The door swung open. "What is it that could not wait?" Professor Snape didn't even look up from the papers on his desk.

He took a deep breath. "I thought you'd want to know that Chris will probably contact you about a spike."

The quill stopped scratching and Professor Snape set it down. "What happened?"

"I nearly cracked my door in half." I should have been able to control it. Ron's the only one that can get such a rise out of me now. We should work on that in my next lesson.

"Emotion?"

"Really pissed off. It was Ron again. I managed to reblock my mind fairly quickly. Just before I threw up the last of my shields I felt him moving closer, but beyond feeling the spike he wasn't close enough to pull out any information. I'll be in the library if Chris wants the details."

"Why would he want the details?" Professor Snape leaned back in his chair.

Harry hugged himself. "Well he still has that charm on me that tells him my status, so he'll know something happened. Plus, he's attempting to change my jurisdiction with the ultimate goal of pulling me out of Hogwarts, so he'll want any proof he can gets his hands on."

"What?!" Oh cool. Surround sound. He looked over his shoulder. Draco hovered in the doorway.

"Hi Draco." Harry shrugged. "Chris was bored. Things at the office were slow and he asked me what I thought would be the most impossible thing to do. I told him there was no way to get me out of here. So that's what he's trying to do. It's no big deal since it will never happen. I'm out." He headed toward the door. "See you in class Draco." He headed toward the stairs and the library. I really shouldn't keep telling people these random things, but it shouldn't make a difference really. I just told them the truth. He sat at a table near the back and out of sight of the doors. He pulled his psych book out of his bag and flipped to the post-it flag. The structure of the brain. Harry leaned his head on his palm and yanked the cap off his highlighter. Halloween is tomorrow. He sighed. Something always happens on Halloween. Let's hope for something smaller than a troll this time. He smiled.

-------

Harry jumped into his seat at the Gryffindor table with a smile. Halloween was almost over and nothing bad has happened. The Halloween horrors could finally end. "Hey guys. I'm starving. I can't wait for the feast to start."

Hermione smiled. "Hi Harry. Where were you all afternoon?" She chewed on her lip.

Harry patted her arm. She didn't do anything. Even Ron didn't do anything really. He's just as close-minded as society made him. Pureblood wizards really need to be forced out into the world more. "I was in the library working on my psychology. I only have a few more chapters left before I send for the test."

Hermione smacked Ron and he shifted in his seat. "Um--I--I'm sorry mate. I was a right prick about the whole--the whole you know--thing."

Harry sighed. Well, it's an apology at least. "It's okay, but you do understand that I'm not going to stop being nice to Draco just because you don't like it."

Ron sputtered.

Harry shook his head. "It's not like we're best friends or anything. We just talk in class and after class and don't try to make the other miserable. I'm not going to go back to hating him. I don't have to energy to keep doing it."

Dumbledore stood. "Welcome everyone to the Halloween feast. May you all enjoy the wonderful food that has been prepared this evening." He clapped his hands and the platters on the tables overflowed as everyone cheered.

Harry loaded his plate and joined in on Dean's conversation about football. The main course eventually disappeared and the desserts appeared. Harry grabbed the bowl of pudding and spooned it out. "I love pudding. It's so squishy and fun."

Dean shook his head. "Whatever you say Harry."

Harry squished the pudding through his teeth and swallowed. McGonagall came through the doors and headed to the staff table. She moved around the table and leaned down to Dumbledore's ear. Where had she been? The last desserts disappeared.

Dumbledore stood and held up his hands. The hall fell silent. "Thank you. I wish I did not have to end the feast on such a low note. I am afraid we have now seen the beginning of a dark time. This morning another magic school was attacked. A number of the professors there have confirmed that it was indeed Death Eaters that conducted the attack. The members of this school will be taking refugee here until a more permanent solution can be found. I trust that you will all make them feel welcome and be sensitive to their situation." He gestured and the room grew without disturbing anyone seated. A fifth table appeared in the center of the newly created space. The doors swung open and kids of all ages filed in. All of them wore muggle clothes in various states of disarray. A few adults were scattered through the mass directing people forward. Most of the older students carried children, some as young as two or three.

The Great Hall exploded with whispers, people pointing at those pouring through the doors. Professor Snape's eyes roamed over the crowd, his fist clenched around the stem of his goblet.

Mom stood at the door, the right side of her face bruised and her left arm in a sling. Dad passed around a clipboard that everyone was signing. Jason sat four-year-old Marjore on the bench next to her cousin Meg who'd just turned thirteen last week. Jason pushed his hair off his face and glanced around, his head stopping toward the end of the Slytherin table.

Harry stood and walked to the table. The hall went silent. Everyone else was seated. He stopped in front of Jason who turned to face him. He took a shuddering breath.

Jason pulled him into his arms.

Harry hugged him back and relaxed. He pulled back to look into his face. "Are you okay?"

Jason smiled. "Nothing a little magic can't fix. Too bad a little magic can't fix me, huh?" He shook his head. "I'm fine. Just a few cuts and bruises. I'll be fine in a few days."

Harry nodded. "Where is she?"

Jason's smile dropped. "I--I don't know."

Harry twisted his hands in Jason's shirt. "You have to know. You're the second."

"She told me to take the kids and get out. I did. The last I saw of her she was headed to the potions lab." He grabbed Harry's shoulders. "She can take care of herself. She's probably just hiding out."

He's trying to make me feel better. He doesn't believe it. "If she were okay she'd be here."

Jason shook his head. "She couldn't know we'd come here."

Harry clenched his fists. He couldn't stop the shaking. "_I'm_ here. She'd come. If something were wrong she'd come here." He could barely hear his own voice. "I killed her." He ripped himself away and bolted through the open doors.

Harry ran down the corridors, the tears streaming down his face. He did this. It's all him. He wrapped his hands around his head. He couldn't make it stop.

He turned the corner. He couldn't get the image out of his head. She wasn't there. She wasn't in the hospital wing. It was filled with injured students from the Academy but she wasn't there. She wasn't in the Great Hall. If she were alive she'd be here. She would have found him by now. She was dead. People were hurt. They were supposed to be safe at the Academy.

They would have been if it weren't for him. If he hadn't gone there they would be fine.

He turned around. Where was he? He slammed his fist into the wall. Cali was missing. It didn't matter what Jason said. She wasn't hiding on the grounds. Cali knew every inch of the grounds. She would have gotten out and gotten here. They had her. The Death Eaters had her. It was all his fault. She would be dead within hours. Professor Snape wouldn't be able to stop them. Spy or not it wouldn't help. Even if he could find them he won't be able to convince them to let her go. He can't tell them who she really is, and he can't compromise his position. And if he told them who she really was they'd probably want her dead more. The daughter of his squib sister? That can't go along with their ideas that people with magic are better than those without it. They'd come after Mom too. He spent all this time and effort keeping them safe and all for nothing. I ruined it. I ruined everything. She's as good as dead. It won't be an easy death either. They'll torture her. This is all my fault. I have to stop this. I can't kill anyone else.

He stumbled into the wall, the stone scraping the skin off his arm. He clapped his hand over it and ran down the stairs. He jumped down the last six stairs and ran down the hallway. The potion had to still be there. He'd seen where Professor Snape put it. He'd still be up in the Great Hall with Biara. He can't do anything that would show his having sympathy for people attacked by Death Eaters. Someone would tell their Death Eater parents and everything would be ruined. He won't be down here. He wouldn't come to his classroom this late at night.

He collapsed against the wall next to the door. The door was locked. He slammed against it. Splinters ripped his palms open. No! It couldn't be locked. He screamed and the door exploded inward, shards of wood covering everything.

He stumbled across the room and pulled the potion cupboard open. It was on the top. It had to be on the top. I saw him put it there. There!

He pulled the vial out. He'd made the fucking poison. He might as well use it. He pulled out the stopper and tipped it back.

"Expelleramus!"

The vial flew out of his fingers and smashed against the ground. The liquid bubbled and the indentations in the stone grew deeper. Draco stood in the doorway with his wand raised, eyes fixed on the smoke emanating from between the shards of glass.

Professor Snape swept into the room and froze. "What the bloody hell is going on?!"

Draco jumped back. "Dumbledore told everyone to go back to their dorms. I got the last of the students into the common room and I heard someone screaming. I came to see what was going on. I saw Potter grab the potion and try to drink it. I tried to get it away from him but it smashed on the floor."

Professor Snape looked at the growing indentation in the floor. "Potter what were you doing?" His voice was quiet.

He hated him. Malfoy hated him. Why did he mess up EVERYTHING? "You bastard! Why do you have to stick your nose in everything?!" He launched himself at Malfoy.

Snape grabbed him around the waist. The scream ripped out of his throat. He'd killed her. He fought against the arms. Why couldn't they let him go? He was trying to keep everyone safe. Why wouldn't they let him keep everyone safe? The arms wrapped around his torso and trapped his arms against him. The fingers dug into his skin.

He sagged against the arms. They loosened and he fell to the ground. He wrapped his arms around his chest, digging his fingertips into his arms. The tears fell onto his scraped skin, burning as they slid down his arm.

"Harry." The slender arms wrapped around him. She smelled like cinnamon.

"Mom?" Everything is okay. She can make everything okay. She helped me. She can make everything better.

"Oh baby I'm here. It's okay. Everything is going to be okay." She brushed the hair off his forehead.

The floor was still smoking. The liquid settled in the depression sending up thicker clouds of smoke. Snape knew what it was. He knew. I can't--I have to end this. He'll kill me.

"Harry, I want you to listen to me."

A drop of potion sloshed over the lip of the crater and slid an inch toward him. Calling him. There had to be more. He had made it once. He could make it again.

"Harry!" Her hands were shaking as she cupped his face. "I need you to go to the Great Hall. Find little one. Make sure she's okay."

Lila. God. What would she be thinking? That it was her fault that she hadn't seen this? It wasn't her fault. He had to tell her!Harry pushed himself to his feet and trudged toward the door. Have to find Lila. Have to make sure she's okay. Draco said that all the students went back to their dorms. She must have snuck in with the Academy students. They still won't know how to help her. They don't know what it's like to kill someone.

-----

I'm chained to my computer because I'm taking the commercials out of my Lois and Clark tapes, so hopefully the next chapter will come out much sooner than this one did.

I would LOVE to hear from you what you think. Especially about the changes I made. Happy reading all.


	30. Scrying

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I'm going to make a calendar and post it on my website to explain the time duration of all this. There are days in between some of the chapters that explain Harry's changing behavior. As time goes by he's adjusting to his environment. I'll post a note when it's up. It might take some time. I have it written out so I just have to take the time to type it.

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"Follow him Draco." The hole was being burned deeper, the liquid decreasing in the depression as it ate through the stone and morphed into fumes.

"What?" The boy was staring at Biara kneeling on the floor, her eyes locked on the caustic poison.

Get him out of here. He cannot find out. He has to leave now. "Draco, follow Potter. Make sure he goes directly to the Great Hall."

"Why should I--" His eyes were bouncing around.

Severus moved to the cabinet and yanked open the door. He grabbed a vial of milky-white liquid from the back of the bottom shelf and poured it on the floor. The fumes swirled and coalesced before fading. "I need to know what that boy is doing." He stared straight into Draco's eyes. "Do you understand me?" Let the boy think I have a mission from the Dark Lord. Anything to get him out of this room. Potter can't be left alone anyway. He tried to kill himself. Did the Dark Lord get to him again? What could have pushed him that far?

"Y--Yes sir." Draco's eyes darted around the room and ran out the door.

Severus threw up silencing and locking charms and sank to the floor next to Biara, wrapping his arms around her. She was shaking. "Biara. I am so sorry. I didn't see any signs of this happening. He said he didn't know how he made the poison, that the Dark Lord had pushed him to do it. He voluntarily gave it up. He's come to occlumency lessons and learned to block almost all emotions. I don't know why he--"

"They have her." Biara's voice echoed in the stone room.

Severus tightened his arms. "What?"

Biara turned and pulled herself closer to him. "Harry knows what I know. If she had gotten away she would have come straight here. Even if she didn't know we'd come here she would have headed straight here to warn Harry. She can identify a Death Eater attack as well as any professor at the Academy. She's not here. Either she can't get away or she's--" She broke down and sobbed into his robes. "I can't do this Severus. I can't lose her. I can't lose him. I have to do something to help him."

The Academy students surrounded the new table in the middle of the room. They whispered and huddled close to each other. The prefects were gathered together close to the head table talking with McGonagall. They kept shooting glances at the students. Lila had her legs pulled in to her chest, her arms wrapped around Julie. They were so small. They were so young. They shouldn't have to deal with this. They were forced away from their school by psychopathic men who wouldn't have given another thought to killing any of them because they sympathized with muggles. He walked straight to Lila and she pulled away from Julia and reached out to him. He lifted her off the bench and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Her robes were lying in a pile on the floor.

She sniffed and buried her head on his shoulder. "I didn't see it."

"It's okay Lila. It's okay. It's not your fault." Harry pulled her closer.

"I haven't seen anything all day. I couldn't get to you. I couldn't tell you." Lila started shaking.

She's lost her ability to see the future. Holy crap. She's not safe here. She can't--He took a deep breath. She's survived this long. She knows how things work now. She knows whom to trust. It will be okay. Mom's here now. All of her friends are here. She doesn't have to go back to Slytherin if she doesn't want to. She'll be okay now.

"Richardson? What are you doing here? Why aren't you back in the common room with everyone else?" Malfoy headed toward him.

Lila sighed. "He's too protective for his own good."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, as long as it's his own good he's protecting."

"Harry." Malfoy was standing right next to him. "Put her down."

Harry growled. "Fuck off Malfoy."

Malfoy stumbled back. "Harry? Look, I don't know what the hell is going on, but all the students are supposed to be in the dorms. I have to take her back."

"Try and touch her Malfoy and I'll take your arm off." Harry moved back toward the Gryffindor table. Can't let anyone take her. Have to stay away from everyone.

"Jaime?" Lila pulled on his hair. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Harry extracted his hair from her fingers. "Nothing happened. I'm fine. Everything's fine."

Lila smacked his arm and pushed away, shaking her head. "You're lying. Put me down." She pushed against his chest again.

Harry let her slide to the ground. "I'm not lying."

Lila smacked his leg. "I am not the gullible little girl I act like when I want something from Momma. Cali isn't here. No one knows where she is. You are _not_ okay."

Harry sighed and dropped onto the bench.

Lila slid over and curled against him. "I'm worried too. But you have to think about this more logically. It's Cali, so she'll be all right. If the bad men do have her, she'll get out. If she can't break out with magic then she'll talk her way out. " Lila glanced around and giggled. "She did convince you to dance on a table."

Harry pulled her closer and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "You aren't supposed to know about that Lila."

She smiled. "I know a lot that I'm not supposed to know. I'm sneaky that way. I'm in Slytherin for a reason you know."

Harry smoothed her hair and shook his head. What happened? He blinked and rubbed his eyes.

"Harry?" Draco slowly took a step forward.

Oh crap. "Hi Draco."

Draco's eyes darted to the group of prefects and the students watching Harry sitting on the bench before lowering himself next to him. "Are you okay?"

Harry rubbed his forehead. "My head hurts. What happened?"

Draco's mouth dropped open. "What happened?! You don't remember?"

Harry chewed on his lip. "I do. I do remember. It's just all--not fuzzy exactly, but not right. I couldn't breathe. I was in the dungeons. I remember what I did and why I did it but I wouldn't do what I did for the reasons I did it."

Draco collapsed against the table. "You know that that made absolutely no sense, right?"

Harry ran his hands through his hair. "Have you ever had a little voice in your head pushing you to do things?"

Draco traced patterns on the tabletop. "No. That was my father's job."

Harry grimaced. "Oh. Sorry. It just--it doesn't make any sense. I know that it's not right--but it makes so much sense. Pure emotion overwhelms--" Harry rubbed his forehead. "I couldn't stop myself. I'm an idiot."

Lila snuggled closer and patted his chest. "Are you okay Harry?"

Harry sighed. "Yes, but I think I'll be in detention for the rest of my life."

Lila giggled. "Did you do something to make Professor Snape mad?"

Harry smirked. "When don't I? But yes, this one was particularly stupid and dangerous."

Draco snorted. "Obviously" He pulled his lip between his teeth. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, you did just--"

Harry clapped his hand over Draco's mouth. "I'm--decent. I guess. The whole world is still pointless and everything. I still half wish that you didn't stop me. But it's probably better this way and the more I push back the more everything shifts back toward the middle from the extremes. Cali would have killed me if I--" The prefects were staring at the table, at him. McGonagall was handing out pieces of parchment while sneaking glances at him, or at Draco. He dropped his hand from Draco's mouth. "Draco, aren't you supposed to be up there?"

Draco sighed and moved back a little farther, out of McGonagall's direct line of sight. "Probably." He shifted. "All right. Yes. I'll probably get a lecture from her later."

"So why don't you go up there and avoid the inevitable boring lecture about responsibility and duties?"

Draco looked back at the doors. "Professor Snape told me to--" His eyes scanned over the students around him.

Harry rubbed his temples. "Oh." He lifted Lila and set her on the floor. "Sweets, why don't you go find Diana or Jason. Don't let them start freaking out."

Lila sighed and patted his knee. "Okay. I'll leave so you can talk, but you aren't allowed to freak out either." She moved down the table to where Diana sat. Lila scrambled onto the bench and started talking to Meg. Jessica pulled a pack of cards out of her bag and set out a game of solitaire.

Draco coughed and Harry's head snapped toward him. "So Lila Richardson isn't what she seems, huh?"

Harry tried to smile, but he couldn't keep the muscles contracted. All the lines were blurring. What could he tell people now? What was still secret? "Lila's Mom runs the school that was attacked."

"Why was she here then?"

Harry shrugged. "I have no idea. They didn't tell me she was coming. I just saw her at the sorting. I was a little confused. But whatever."

Draco nodded. "Got it. Time to change the subject." He tapped his fingers on the table. "What was in the vial? I mean, it ate through the floor in seconds."

Harry pulled his knees to his chest. Oh it was a harmless little potion that just happens to eat through stone. "It was poison."

Draco's eyes widened. "So you really--you tried to kill yourself. It wasn't just grabbing the wrong potion when what you really wanted was something that would knock you unconscious for eight or nine hours--"

Harry pressed his hand over Draco's mouth. "Yes."

Draco shoved his arm away. "Why?"

Harry wrapped his arms around his knees. "My world just crumbled around me. Magnify everything by a few hundred times and you're bound to do something stupid." He dropped his feet and pushed away from the table, pacing in front of Draco. "There's only so much longer that Professor Snape can give me the potion to block the--the thing that wouldn't let me concentrate in class. The only person who knows what's wrong and has a chance of fixing it is now in the hands of Death Eaters who want her for who knows what reason if they were even going after her specifically at all, we have no idea where she would be and have little to no chance of finding her before they decide that she isn't useful and she outlives her time as a fun torture toy and we find her bloody body staring up with blank eyes in the middle of the forest. Do you know what someone looks like when they've been hit by the killing curse? I don't want to see it anymore. Everyone that tries to help me ends up dead and I'm getting more than a little sick of it!" He jumped as a hand clamped down on his shoulder.

Dad turned him around and pulled him into a hug. "It's all right Harry. Though if I hear you say that this is your fault one more time I might have to set Crane on you."

Harry forced out a laugh. "I already beat him up. We had a disagreement after defense class."

Dad shook his head. "What are we going to do with you?"

Harry shrugged. "Hide me in a room with lots of sugar and movies? It worked last time."

Dad covered his eyes with his hand.

Harry chewed on his lip. He's acting like it's okay but it's not okay. He's falling apart and I'm doing nothing. Maybe Snape as a Death Eater can't find her, but I'm a wizard for goodness sake. Why not _try_ magic at least before concluding that Voldemort is in a shielded hideout? No one ever suggested that he was a sane and practical resurrected monster. He squeezed Dad's shoulder. "I'm going to get the guys together and try scrying. Everything is probably warded but there is always a chance that they were stupid enough to leave us an opening to find a way through."

Dad smiled and patted his back. "That's my boy. Do you need anything?"

Harry shook his head. "We'll figure it out."

Dad nodded and scanned the room. He froze and with a quick squeeze moved across the room toward Dumbledore who entered the hall with Fudge and a group of aurors trailing behind him.

Harry forced himself back toward the table.

"Who was that?" Draco grabbed his arm as he walked past.

"Huh? Oh, that's D--Chris. I have to--there's something I have to do."

Draco dropped his arm. "What?"

"Nothing it's--" I don't have a map. They won't have a map. They don't have any reason to randomly carry a map of England. All right Draco, but in for a penny, in for a pound. "If I tell or show you something, do you promise not to tell anyone?"

Draco scoffed. "What are we, six?"

"I'm serious Draco. No one. Especially not anyone in your family. No friends of your father's if you know what I mean."

Draco pursed his lips. "It's great to know you think so much of me Potter. Screw you. And after I--" He threw up his hands and headed toward the prefects.

Shit. I didn't mean. He grabbed Draco's shoulder and pulled him back. "Sorry. I didn't mean--it's just really--I don't want anyone to know. I can't let anyone know. I promised. But I need your help." This has to work. If we wait too long they'll probably remember to fix whatever they forget the first time around. If this is going to have a chance of working it has to be done now.

Draco rolled his eyes. "How do I get myself into these things?" He waved his arms. "All right. I promise." He sighed and shifted. "I really promise. I won't tell anyone."

Harry smiled. "I need a map of England. Do you have one?"

Draco narrowed his eyes. "Yeeees. Why do you need a map of England? We're not even in England."

Huh. Good point. "Good point. How about a map of uh localness? I don't know. I just need a map of any country where Voldemort's likely to be holding hostages."

"What good would that do you anyway?" Draco waved his hands waiting for an answer. He rolled his eyes. "Gryffindors. Merlin only knows why I put up with this. I'll get you your bloody map." He turned and stalked out the doors. McGonagall stared after him, her lips thin.

Step one completed. Harry rubbed his hands together. He could do this. "Jason!" He jogged over to the boy.

Jason smiled. "You're in a better mood all of a sudden." He frowned. "I was really worried about you over there, and where did you go when you ran out?"

Harry brushed the questions away with his hand. "Not important. I--"

"It is important if you're faking being all right again. I don't know how to get on the roof at this place but I still do not like heights."

Harry growled. "How many times do I have to tell you that I had no intention of jumping off the roof?"

"Enough that I can banish the image of you standing on the ledge with your arms out at your sides?"

Harry smacked his arm. "I like flying and I, unlike you, love heights despite the times I have been pushed or fallen from said heights." He coughed. Too bad Jason isn't as far off as I'm making him think this time. Stupid Voldemort. "Now as I was saying. We're gonna scry."

"But they'll have--"

"Anywhere with hostages warded to the teeth? Probably. But if I've learned one thing from my numerous Voldemort encounters, it's that he's cocky. He thinks nothing can touch him. Maybe he did that this time. If he did, we might be able to get a read on her. The longer we wait, the less likely the chances are that they'll remain as stupid as they start out."

Jason nodded. "We'll need a map."

"Covered. Draco is getting one right now. Anyone here have a crystal?"

Diana unclasped the chain from her neck and dropped the clear quartz into his hand. "I told you it would come in handy one day." She smiled. "I believe this means you owe me some money?"

Harry laughed. Nothing had changed. "Don't you worry. I'll pay up. So we've got a map and a crystal." Anything else? The only other thing we have is a giant room full of people, several of which really shouldn't see what we're about to do. Room full of--Harry giggled. Power. It was rolling off them in waves. Maybe this wasn't as pointless as all that. Harry smiled and draped his arm over Jason's shoulder. "Gather the troops my lovelies. Just maybe we can blast through whatever gets in our way. We will need a distraction for those that aren't supposed to know this is possible."

Diana laughed. "I think a fight should do the trick, don't you think?"

Harry blew her a kiss. "Brilliant as always I see. You set it up, we shall gather."

She nodded and slipped down the table. She leaned in between Brian and Sean. They were nodding with big smiles on their faces.

"They won't be able to keep it going for as long as it will take us to do this, but it should distract them from seeing it starting." Jason jerked his head again, bringing two more toward them.

"There's Draco."

Draco handed the map to Harry, watching Jason out of the corner of his eye.

Harry spread the map out on the table. "Draco Jason, Jason Draco."

Jason held out his hand and Draco shook it. "Nice to meet you."

Dara sidled up to Draco. "Well hello."

Jason snorted. "Very subtle little princess."

Dara smacked him. "I'm not your princess asshole, so unless you want those to be the last words you ever speak you should be nicer to me."

Draco's eyes widened.

Harry laughed and pulled him between him and Jason. "Don't worry. She's a sweetie if you don't try and demean her womanly power of beating the crap out of you."

Draco opened and closed his mouth and shifted closer to Harry as Dara forced her way onto the bench next to him. "Um." He coughed. "Hello."

Dara laughed and smacked Draco's arm. "I see you've gotten the friendship of our boy. Be careful. We spent a lot of time constructing that. You break him you bought him."

Diana dropped onto the opposite bench with a laugh. "We're set. They'll go on the signal."

Draco laughed nervously. "Who will go on what signal?"

Harry shrugged. "Oh you know. This and that. No big deal." He counted off those gathered around the map as he smoothed it out. The twelve were present and accounted for. "All right guys. We're going to try and scry for Cali. I figured with enough power we might be able to break through."

Ara dropped her head onto her palm. "Don't we need something of hers?" She waved her other hand. "Well I know we don't _need_ it, but would it work better?"

Harry dropped the crystal to the table. Damn it.

Lila dropped an envelope onto the table. "She may be crazy, but sometimes it comes in handy. Where will we be far enough away that we can play cards?"

Diana pointed toward the far end of the Slytherin table.

Lila nodded and ran to her friends. They grabbed their cards and headed off.

Harry pulled the flap out from the inside of the envelope. He snorted.

Jason tried leaning over Dara and Draco to see in. "What is it?"

"The freak sent Lila her hair."

Jason laughed. "What, you didn't get yours?"

Harry shrugged. "Well yes, but I don't carry it around with me or anything." He tried to force the blood away from his face. Just because it was in his album didn't mean-- "Anyway, we can do this now." He pulled out a few strands of hair and wrapped them around the crystal.

Draco turned Harry toward him. "What are you doing? Even that bat Trelawney wouldn't believe in this. You can't find people like this."

Everyone was looking at each other, managing to hold back their laughter. Harry shrugged. "Well I guess we'll see won't we." He held the crystal over the center of the map while everyone else pressed their palms on the edges. "Plus, anything that Trelawney doesn't believe in must be a good idea. Now Diana."

She nodded and Brain and Sean moved to the front of the room on the other side of the prefects. "You bastard!" Brian threw a punch toward Sean. He missed and pulled him to the ground. They jumped up and circled each other, arms flying. Students at the ends of the table ran to surround them while the others stayed at the table to shield the group from direct view. The prefects, along with Dumbledore and the aurors, were headed toward the group.

The eleven surrounding the map started chanting. Harry closed his eyes. I really need to learn Latin. He brushed all the thoughts out of his mind and pushed his energy into the crystal. Morganna Caliope Richardson. Where is she? The crystal circled the map lazily. It edged toward one side, moving in smaller and smaller circles. Where is she? The chain jerked and the crystal thumped against the map. Harry's eyes shot open. We found her! The map burst into flame. Jessica strangled her scream and Kyle waved his arm, dousing the flames. The map was ash. Harry couldn't breathe. No! We were so close. "Did anyone see where it landed?"

Jason slammed his fist on the table. Samantha dropped her head into her hands. Remara let out a deep breath. "England. It was definitely in England. Somewhere near London."

Everyone locked on her green eyes. She shrugged. "I cannot get any closer than that."

She could be anywhere. They could be doing anything to her. This is all my fault. I have to--Harry growled. "Voldemort."

Draco flinched. "What?" He shook his head, his eyes shifting back into focus. "And what the hell just happened?"

Ron dragged Sean toward the wall. Chris was holding a cloth to Brian's face. Someone had gotten a good hit in. Brian caught his eye and smiled before grimacing at Chris. Chris looked over and shook his head, smiling.

"Voldemort tapped in and realized what was happening and torched the map." My thoughts were empty. What did he catch onto? "Him. He felt that I was looking for him." Harry let out his breath and smiled. "So since he doesn't know what we really looking for we haven't lost any of the time we have to get her back." He tossed the crystal to Diana.

She yelped and dropped it to the table. "What the hell?" She rubbed her hand.

Harry glanced down at his palm. The links of the chain were still visible. They were burned into his skin. Pain shot through his hand. "Ow!" He shook his hand. Jason conjured a bucket of ice and he stuck his entire hand in.

Ara snorted. "Way to listen to your body Potter."

Harry glared at her and pulled his hand out when he couldn't feel his fingers. Jason banished the bucket.

Draco couldn't seem to get enough air into his lungs.

Harry winced. Oh crap. Information overload for poor Draco. He wrapped his dry hand around Draco's shoulder. "I think you should head back to the dorm Draco. Get a good night's rest."

Draco looked at him but his eyes kept jumping around the group.

This is not going to be a fun conversation and I am going to break so many rules. "I'll explain things tomorrow, okay?" Draco's eyes locked onto his. "I promise."

Draco nodded and slid off the bench. He meandered through the students standing around the table and disappeared into the shadows outside the hall.

Kyle clapped him on the shoulder. "Next time we do that maybe we should make sure there aren't any new people around." He laughed. "Boy, you going to have fun with that conversation tomorrow."

"Ha ha." Harry pushed his hand off.

Dumbledore raised his arms and everyone fell silent. "We have created an area for you to stay until matters can be resolved. Professor McGonagall will escort you there and explain how to access it. I would ask you not to reveal these details to any students here for your own safety. Madam Pomfrey assures me that those of your classmates in the hospital wing will all recover within a few days so do not worry about them. It is late and we should all get a good night's rest."

Professor McGonagall moved toward the door, the students following after.

Jason hugged him. "We did good tonight. Better than any of us expected. We'll find her." He moved away, lifted Marjore into his arms and trailed after the group. Marjore slept peacefully on his shoulder.

"Harry?" Hermione stood a few feet behind him wringing her hands.

No. Tomorrow was not going to be a fun day at all. "I'm fine. Can the explanations wait for tomorrow?"

Hermione opened her mouth but Ron stepped in front of her. "Sure mate. You look exhausted.

Harry sighed. "I don't feel any better than I look either." He stood, turned toward the door, and caught himself on the table as his knees collapsed. Perhaps he had channeled a bit too much energy into the crystal. Ron pulled Harry's arm over his shoulder and helped him toward the doors. Hermione rushed up and draped his other arm over her shoulders. The trip to the tower was silent. Harry could barely find enough breath to make it up the stairs. Ron helped him up the stairs, calling goodnight to Hermione.

Harry collapsed into his bed. Ron slipped his glasses and shoes off and pulled the covers over him. "Goodnight mate."

"Night." He buried his head in the pillow and dropped into the darkness.

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Leave a review. :) I just couldn't stop writing and then we have another chapter so soon. I wrote another six pages at the dance recital shows I was at yesterday for eight hours. Happy Reading all.


	31. Do I really want to have this conversati...

            Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

Thank everyone so much for the reviews. I'm _trying_ to finish this story before the summer ends but I don't know if that is going to happen. I'm going to give it my best shot though. I at least know the direction it's going in.

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Harry moaned and flipped onto his stomach.

"No. It's time to get up mate. You'll be late for class."

Harry cracked his eyes open and Ron smacked his leg. "Up."

Harry turned over and pushed onto his elbows. "There has to be some obscure rule that says I don't have to move. You're a prefect. How about you find one and help a guy out?" He dropped to his back and closed his eyes.

"Sure. Stay there. I'm sure Hermione will be able to explain things much clearer when I send her up."

Harry scowled and rolled to his side. "Fine. Pull the Hermione card then. I'm up." He crawled to the edge of the bed and pulled the top of the trunk open. He shoved stuff out of the way and grabbed the metal box stuffed in the crown whiskey bag. He opened the box, grabbed one of the vials, pulled out the cork, and downed it. The liquid fizzed and tickled as it slid into his stomach.

"Um. Harry." Ron's hand froze as he pushed his trunk closed.

"It's basically flavored sugar water." He held another vial out. "Want one?"

Ron inched over and took it off his palm. He worked the cork out and smelled it before tipping it back. He tossed the vial to Harry. "Wow. That's a rush."

Harry laughed. "Don't I know it." He put the vials back in the box and shoved it back to the bottom of the trunk. He grabbed clean clothes out of his wardrobe and left for the bathroom.

The dorm was empty when he came back. He grabbed his bag and dashed down the stairs. Ron and Hermione were in the common room, Ron sitting in a chair by the fire, his feet propped on the table while Hermione paced in front of one of the tables.

"Time for class?"

Hermione spun and clapped a hand to her chest. "Harry!" She grabbed her bag. "We're going to be late."

Harry nodded. "Let's go then." He smiled and headed toward the portrait hole and headed to the defense classroom. The class stood outside the closed door.

Hermione glanced around. "He's not here yet?"

Draco moved toward Harry. "No. Not yet." He pulled Harry a few steps away. "So--"

Harry sighed as everyone turned to watch them. "I'll tell you after Herbology, okay?"

Draco nodded and moved back to the Slytherins standing on the other side of the door glaring at them.

Ron clenched his jaw and took a few deep breaths. "And when are you going to tell us?"

Well since telling you after Draco would ensure me days of hell I'm thinking before Herbology. "Lunch. I shouldn't have to tell you anything too secret that we won't be able to hide it in the Great Hall."

"Then why are you talking to Draco in private?"

Because what I have to tell him _is_ too secret to share at lunch. "We can't exactly just meet and talk at lunch. We'd cause a riot at one, if not both, of the tables."

Ron grimaced. "Sorry."

Mr. Sartoris wandered toward the door yawning. He looked bad. There were dark circles under his eyes that shone, the pupils dilated. He'd probably been up all night checking wards and trying to figure out how the Death Eaters had made it into the school. He unlocked the door and gestured everyone in. The class rushed in and found their chairs, whispering to each other. He walked to the front of the room and boosted himself onto the desk. "Sorry I'm late, but it has been a long night." He hid another yawn behind his hand. "The Headmaster has requested that all the professors ask their classes if they have any questions about the events of last night." He shrugged. "I think it's a foolish idea, but I do what I'm told. So does anyone have any questions?"  
            Lavender raised her hand and he gestured toward her. "What happened? Are they all right? How long are they going to be here?" She glanced toward Harry. "And how do they know Harry?"

Mr. Sartoris rolled his eyes. "Death Eaters attacked their school and started throwing hexes at students in the halls. Some of the older students managed to slow them down and get the others to safety. The Death Eaters weren't captured. They took port keys out before the aurors could catch them. They will be here until new wards can be constructed around the school. First they have to deconstruct the old ones because they were only breached and not destroyed, so they could be here until Christmas or later. As for the last, Potter is an little brat that gets around."

Harry snorted. "Thanks. I really appreciate that one."

"But Harry, how do you know them?" Lavender was nearly bouncing at finally having an opportunity to ask him. The rest of the class was on the edge of their seats. Harry glanced at Draco who rolled his eyes and faked gagging.

Harry stifled a laugh and sighed. She was like a dog with a bone. Crane's glaring at me so I obviously can't let the truth out. "It's a pen pal thing."

Crane smiled. "Well there we are. Any other questions?"

Hermione slowly raised her hand.

Crane hesitated before he nodded at her.

She took a deep breath. "Was anyone--um--are they all right?"

Crane let out his breath and smiled. "Everyone in the hospital wing will recover from their injuries and the others have only minor scrapes and bruises."

"It's just that at breakfast they all seemed very subdued. I know that they were attacked and obviously that's part of it, but it seemed like there was more." Hermione didn't even look as if she were on the edge of a panic attack despite the fact that she was pushing a topic a professor obviously didn't want to discuss.

Harry smiled. Maybe I'm finally rubbing off on her. Then again Hermione is too smart for her own good. If she's asking him she doesn't think I'll tell her. Which means she doesn't trust me. Which means I've got a problem. Damn. And things were going so well.

Mr. Sartoris rubbed his forehead. "One student is still unaccounted for. The efforts to discover her have been largely unsuccessful." The whispers faded. Everyone's eyes locked on him. He shrugged and hopped off the desk. "But no doubt some idiot will do some stupid thing and she'll be recovered in a blaze of fire and a hail of trumpets. That's how these things usually pan out. Now can we finally get down to work? Good."

He moved to the board and started writing. "Those of you that have been attending wand less defense learned last week that an important part of defending yourself is distracting your opponent. There are a number of ways to do that magically. Some are more amusing than others. In theory, an effective way to distract your opponent would be to conjure an image of a unicorn and have it sing show tunes. I can tell you from experience though, that that requires far more energy than it is strictly worth. So there are a number of ways that make a little more sense to distract your opponent." He pulled his wand out of his sleeve and pointed it toward Harry. "What do you think I'm going to do to you right now Harry?"

Harry laughed. No idea. I skipped the classes on distraction this summer and went clubbing instead. "A dancing bullfrog?"

Mr. Sartoris snorted. "Again, amusing but not very useful. Actually I was thinking about a bright light to blind you, or a snake. If there's a big enough snake your opponent would be thoroughly distracted."

"Unless they could turn the snake around and have it attack you."

Mr. Sartoris nodded but also shrugged. "Potentially yes, but that's advanced charms work. It's not easy to take control of something another person has conjured. Even powerful and fully trained wizards have a problem with it. It is essentially overpowering the mind of the other wizard."

Harry smiled and shrugged. "It's easier if it's a snake and it's me."

"And why is that Mr. Potter?"

Harry tilted his head. Did I really never tell him? Did I ever tell anyone at the Academy? Hm. I guess not. Strange. "I'm a parslemouth, so I can talk to snakes. When Draco conjured a snake second year I managed to keep it from attacking."

Mr. Sartoris blinked a few times before shaking his head. "Well I suppose it could be easier, but there are also problems with it. A snake conjured by a second year is a little different than one conjured by a fully trained witch or wizard. It is an interesting idea for an experiment though." He dropped his wand on the desk. "Anyway, light or darkness can have a debilitating effect on a duel, though it can also make it harder for you to fight. A beam of light or fog will affect them and not yourself. Then there is the best defense. Some spells have a specific visible effect. If you can duplicate that effect then your opponent will defend against a spell that you are not actually casting. You will know what they are going to do and you can exploit the weakness of that defensive spell."

Harry wrote as fast as he could. This is what he gets for skipping class. He could be relaxing right now and thinking about other ways to locate Cali instead of writing furiously as he talked faster than should be humanly possible.

Mr. Sartoris glanced at his watch. "Well we seem to be out of time. I'll see you next class, and those of you in wand less defense remember that the meeting time has been changed. We'll be meeting at eleven on Saturday instead of noon. Now go eat before I get blamed for starving all of you."

Papers rustled as people started shoving their stuff into their bags. Harry rubbed his wrist. How many pages can one person be expected to write? He closed his bag.

"Harry?" Ron leaned against the doorway.

Oh crap. I really don't want to do this. He headed toward the door. If I tell Draco more than I tell Ron and Ron finds out that I told Draco more than I told him then it will be a whole thing and we won't be speaking and none of it will turn out well. But if I tell Ron something that I don't need to tell him then Chris or Crane could freak out about me spilling secrets that I'm not supposed to be sharing. He rubbed his head. Screw it. "Let's grab food from the kitchens and head out to the pitch. I think this is going to be a more private conversation than I had at first anticipated."

Ron smiled and pulled him down toward the kitchens. "Hermione wanted to run up to her room for something. She said she'd meet us in the entranceway."

"All right." Harry turned the doorknob and stepped into the kitchen.

"Harry Potter Sir. Dobby is being glad to see you. Are you wanting something?" Dobby bounced up and down wringing his hands. 

Harry smiled. "Hi Dobby. I was hoping that I could get some lunch for Ron, Hermione, and I."

Dobby nodded, his ears bouncing. "Yes sir Harry Potter Sir. No problem." He scurried off and came back holding a picnic basket.

"Thanks Dobby." He lifted the basket up and headed toward the doors.

"So what changed this conversation from one that we could have in the Great Hall to one that we need to have outside?"

I don't want to get into a fight with you later on. "I thought that there were a few more things that I could let you in on than I thought last night. Or was it this morning." He rubbed his head. "I just thought about it a little more though I'm not sure when because we never got to stop writing in Defense."

"Don't I know it. I don't think I've ever taken that many notes in a week let alone in one class." Ron rubbed his fingers.

Hermione paced in front of the doors chewing on her fingernails. "There you are. What took you so long?"

She looks nervous. And in class she asked if anyone died in the attack. She was nervous when she asked the question. Harry shifted the basket to his other hand. She knew something. But did she know something about the Academy or something about what he did when he ran out of the Great Hall? "We got food from the kitchens. Let's go outside and talk on the pitch. It should be deserted."

Hermione nodded and grabbed her bag off the floor. "Well then let's go already. What are we waiting for?" She slipped out the doors and bounded down the steps.

Harry sighed and followed. "Do you ever get the sense that we'll never truly understand what goes on inside that girl's brain?"

Ron laughed and smacked his shoulder. "All the time mate. All the time."

He set the basket in front of where Hermione dropped to the ground. She pulled a sandwich out of the basket and took a huge bite.

Harry grabbed a sandwich and took a bite. The peanut butter glued his mouth shut and he swallowed until her could talk again. "Before I start explaining, what do you want to know Hermione? Or what do you already know?"

She swallowed and laughed. "I--I don't know what you're talking about."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Get off of it Hermione. You asked that question in class and you're all jumpy now. What's going on?"

She shifted and took another bite of her sandwich. "It's just--" She sucked the last of the peanut butter off her finger. "I heard Dumbledore talking yesterday to Fudge and the man who came with the students yesterday. Fudge said something about watching out for you because after what happened with her before you were bound to do something stupid to try and get her back." She chewed on her lip and glanced around. "Then he said that she was probably dead anyway and so there was no point."

Harry choked and dropped the sandwich. "He said that in front of Chris?"

"Chris?" Ron bit into his apple.

"That's the guy that came with them that was talking with Fudge." Screw what I can tell them. I'm tired of lying anyway. "He's the American minister of magic and Cali's dad. I can't believe Chris didn't punch him."

Hermione's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth. "Then Cali is the one missing. I thought--I mean when you ran out of the Great Hall. Oh Harry I'm so sorry." She flew forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Did I want to keep that from them? I'm not sure. I forgot they met Cali. "It's okay."

Ron opened and closed his mouth. "How can it be okay that your friend is in the hands of Death Eaters?"

Thanks Ron. That really helped and made me feel so much better. "W--They're working on ways to find her. I have faith in these people. Her father is the minister of magic. He will be using all the resources at his disposal to find her." And of course I'm an easily accessible resource. I wonder how else I can find her. Maybe--No. We tried divination. He'll no doubt have blocked all forms we could try. Another discipline then. Charms maybe. Locator charms. No. That would be too easy. Who in their right mind wouldn't ward their hideout to repeal a simple point me spell? Oops. They're looking at me. What did I miss? "What?"

Hermione leaned against him. "I asked you where you went when you ran out yesterday. You looked really upset."

Ah. The dreaded question. "The astronomy tower. I just had to clear my head." I really hope they don't take that as clear my head by smashing it against the ground. Nope. All right. Hermione's nodding and patting my arm. She buys it and isn't reading anything else into it. Saved. What else did I have to tell them? Harry looked between them. "So all I really had to tell you was that Cali was the one missing and that I'm fine. Is there anything else you guys wanted to know?" A little dangerous, but I can always plead class time if I really don't want to answer something.

Ron grabbed another apple. "I don't think so. But, this Chris, he's the one you stayed with this summer?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Ron shook his head. "No reason it's just, bloody hell, he was furious when Fudge said that about you."

Harry smiled. "He did become a little protective of me. Remember that he had a really bad day. I wouldn't expect him to act rationally or anything. Was there anything else Hermione?" There was something else going on here.

Hermione pushed herself to her feet and paced in front of them. "It's nothing. It's just--" She spun to face him. "There are things you do now that you wouldn't have done then. Like the extra homework--the muggle subjects--you wouldn't have done that before. It always seemed like you were trying to do the least work possible to get by."

Harry smiled. This one I can answer. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the grass. "Have you ever realized how much you don't know? You must have. That's why you take all the classes that you take and read every book that you can get your hands on. I was plunked down in the middle of a place where everyone knew more than me." He grabbed her hand. "And it wasn't even that I knew about magic and they knew about all those things that muggles learn in school; All the things I would have learned, that you would have learned, if we hadn't come to Hogwarts. They knew both of them. It seemed like they knew everything and I just felt dumb. I didn't want to sleep and I started borrowing my roommates' books while they slept. When Cali found out what I was doing she gave me all her old books and started explaining the things I didn't understand. But it wasn't enough. It was never enough. They knew so much and I knew that between magic and Voldemort I'd never be able to learn everything that they did." He dropped her hand and stood, wrapping his arms around his chest. "And then I'm reading chemistry at three in the morning hopped up on sugar and suddenly I wonder if something in one of these books could be the way to defeat Voldemort. If something muggle would work where magic would not because since he doesn't know about the muggle world he wouldn't defend against it. I got obsessed with it. I didn't sleep for three days; I was downing caffeine pills like tic tacs, and all I could think was that if I only had more time then I could find it. The way I was learning was too slow and I'd miss it because I wasn't smart enough or fast enough to find it." He snorted. "Then I got really stupid. I was looking around M--the headmistress' office for more books and I found a time turner in a locked box on the bookcase. And suddenly everything was so clear. I could learn everything I needed to know before it was too late."

Hermione gasped. "Do you know how dangerous that is? Without knowing how to use it, the consequences--"

Harry forced a laugh and nodded. "I wasn't exactly thinking clearly. If I was that little voice in my head that tends to sound like you would have told me that it was an idiotic thing to do." He shrugged. "As it was I used my bare knowledge of how it worked to repeat time."

"How much Harry?" Hermione was shaking and Ron was feeding off her anxiety.

He plopped to the ground. "Before I go any farther you have to know that I'm fine. I was checked out by numerous doctors, muggle and magical, and they all decided that there were no lasting effects from it. I was lucky." Hermione barely blinked as she looked at him. She was probably the only one who'd know how bad this really was. How close I came to-- "When they found me with it there were seven of me studying in various remote parts of the school."

Hermione covered her mouth and pulled in sobbing breaths.

Ron's eyes darted between them. "When you used it third year it wasn't a problem to have two Hermione's running around. What's the difference here?"

Harry chewed on his lip. "There were seven of me running around for about a week and a half. If any of them had run into each other it could have very well killed me or caused a backlash that could have thrown the timeline out of whack. I was so lucky it isn't even funny. But they examined the timeline along with me and it wasn't affected on a global scale just--" Oh crap.

"Harry?" Hermione waved her hand in front of his eyes.

"The school. It affected the school. The wards. What if it affected the wards?" It really is my fault. Directly my fault. It's even worse than I thought before. He sucked in air.

"Harry!" Ron smacked his cheek.

Harry blinked and snarled. "Voldemort."

Ron started and leaned back. "What?"  
            "He keeps screwing with my emotions, turning them up so I overreact to everything." He growled. "It's really starting to piss me off." He shoved everything to the back of his mind. I'll have to talk with Crane about the wards later. "Anyway, they took the time turner, obviously, but didn't bring any charges against me because of my altered mental state and extreme stress. So the ridiculous amount of shit I know is because of the seven weeks of studying I did in one week. After that I kept studying, both muggle and magical subjects, with Biara keeping a close eye on me to make sure I took enough breaks. I still wanted to know everything because it turns out I kind of like being a know-it-all sometimes and it's what everyone there was doing anyway. When I came back I didn't want to give up that feeling of learning stuff that I could directly apply to myself, so they sent me the books and stuff and the tests when I finished the subject." He glanced at his watch. "I'd better get to Herbology. I'll see you guys after I talk with Draco." He grabbed his bag and jogged toward the Greenhouse.

He reached the door at the same time as Professor Sprout. "Running late today Harry?"

He shrugged. "Just a little."

She smiled and gestured him inside, following behind him.

Professor Sprout cleared her throat. "Does anyone have any question about the events of last night? The Headmaster wants to be sure that no one is holding back any concerns."

A Hufflepuff boy in the back raised his hand. "Is there any chance that there will be an attack here? I mean, what if they didn't find what they wanted there?"

Harry snorted. They wouldn't be stupid enough to attack Hogwarts, especially with Dumbledore here, and they already have what they want even if they wanted nothing more than to cause the usual chaos and terror.

Professor Sprout was shaking her head. "Both the Headmaster and the Minister have decided that is a very unlikely possibility. The wards are being strengthened as we speak just in case, but you are all perfectly safe at the school. Anything else?"

A Ravenclaw girl straightened and blurted her question. "What did they want from the other school? Why did they attack?"

Professor Spout sighed. "No one knows. There were no warnings or threats beforehand. However, as a large number of muggleborn students from all over the world attend, that is being taken as the reason for the attack."

Harry pitched his voice so the students couldn't hear him. "So the purebloods will feel safe because they won't be the subject of an attack and the muggleborns will feel safe because there are so many purebloods here. How does that solve the problem that people were attacked? Who cares who their parents were?"

The class dragged on as half the class got reprimanded for staring at him, the whispering didn't die down during the entire class, and Draco couldn't keep up a conversation with him for more than a minute before he drifted off and stared out the window.

Harry sighed as he tossed his gloves back into his bag. That was the longest class ever. "Draco?" He was staring out the window again.

He turned and blinked. "What?"

"Ready to talk?" What is going on with him? I really can't deal with any more hidden issues right now.

"Yeah. Sure." He grabbed his bag and headed across the courtyard toward the pitch. Harry shook his head and jogged after him.

Draco walked to the middle of the stadium and set his bag on the grass. He tilted his head back and looked at the seats above them.

Harry chewed on his lip and stood next to him. "Are you all right?"

"What's the explanation Potter?"

Harry flinched back. What happened between last night and now to undo what I've been working on all year? Forget it. Let's just do this and get it over with. "I learned different magic this summer. Stuff I thought wasn't possible."

Draco spun. "Stuff that isn't supposed to be possible. You can't find people with a crystal."

So we have to make this make more sense for him. "The crystal was around Cali for a significant amount of time, and her hair hadn't been away from her for more than a week and it would still hold her DNA information anyway. You could probably find Dumbledore if you had something of his because his magical signature is so strong, the same with Voldemort which is probably why he thought we were looking for him. Anyone with a strong magical signature can be tracked to at least the country they're in. Anything more specific usually requires a level of power that is nearly impossible to achieve." Harry pushed his hair off his face. "I didn't expect it to point to the street she was on or anything. I just had to have some idea where she was. Even if it had just said the UK I would at least have known that she was still alive."

Draco let out his breath and dropped to the ground. "So you didn't think you could find where she was?"

Harry lowered slowly next to him. "I did hope that I could." He laughed. "But then I also kind of hoped that she'd appear in the middle of the Great Hall singing and laughing at me for worrying at all."

Draco sighed and leaned back on his elbows. "So those are the people you stayed with this summer?"

"Yep."

"Was the one that sent you the letter there?"

Harry smiled. "Yep. Jason." Now the hard part. "What do you want me to tell you Draco?"

Draco sighed. "I have no bloody idea." He lay on his back. "You told me why--well you know. I just--none of it makes any sense. Mr. Sartoris said that someone was missing, which I already knew because of that whole thing last night, but he just, I don't know. Seemed more involved than he should be or something. Why wouldn't he want to answer our questions?"

And we move into the gray areas of conversation. What to say? I don't know his loyalties for sure. I can't tell him things that he might tell, or be forced to tell, his father's friends. I shouldn't have even told him about the magic, but I did keep it imprecise. That's something. "There were eight-year-old kids in the hospital wing who had their bones snapped by Death Eaters. I think that anyone would be--he's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and suddenly there are little kids who have had to look straight into the face of the Dark Arts. How do you defend against something that doesn't attack those who fight it, but those that don't even understand it?"

Draco was staring off into the stands again. "Professor Snape told me to watch you last night. He probably wants me to tell him what went on."

He probably already knows, but you don't know that. What are your loyalties Draco? "Are you going to?"

Draco sat up and dropped his head to his knees. "That is the question, isn't it?" He stood. "I don't have any desire to die to protect you Potter, but I also don't have any desire to betray you to people that want you dead."

Ouch. I think you just outed Professor Snape to me. Wasn't that dangerous?

"Does he know where you were this summer?"

Are you asking if he knows or if Voldemort knows? Hm. Does Voldemort know? If I tell him that Snape knew and Voldemort didn't and he lets something slip this could get bad. Uncertainty should work. "I don't know. Dumbledore knew. Who knows what he decides to share with the staff?" That should work well enough.

Draco nodded and paced in front of him. "I won't tell him what you did. Maybe just that you seemed to be friends with some of them. You already said in class this morning that you were pen pals with one of them, so that should work. Everyone will think that Jason was your pen pal since you went right up to him when they showed up. That's not a secret." He turned to face him. "Will that work?"

Trying to straddle the fence. That is a dangerous place to be, but probably safer then blatantly going against Voldemort for someone in your position. "I think that will work. He'll be satisfied and he won't know anything he shouldn't know." Harry stood. "Thanks Draco."

Draco shrugged and grabbed his bag. "I'd better go. Professor Snape is talking to the House soon. Bye Harry."

Harry smiled as he walked off. "Bye Draco." He held back his laugh as he grabbed his bag and headed toward the library. Everything is okay on this end. Now it is time to work on the other problem. He walked to the back of the library and found the twelve arguing over their philosophy books in whispers. Harry giggled and slipped into the empty seat. He pulled his book on tracking magic out of his bag and flipped to his bookmark. 

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Thanks to my eight hours of dance recital in one day and much perseverance we have another chapter. Happy reading all. Leave me a review so I know how the pacing feels and if it feels like things are going to fast.


	32. Combinations

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

And we have another chapter. It got typed despite being dizzy from the pain killers I'm on. I just got four wisdom teeth pulled, so I'm vegging mostly right now. But I'm trying to write and keep going. I don't know how long the next chapter is going to take, but it's at least two weeks of no computer on top of the two weeks of no computer I just finished. Everyone cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Thank everyone so much for the reviews. They are keeping me encouraged and forcing me to write because I know that there are people out there waiting for the next chapter. I'm _trying_ to finish this story before the summer ends but I don't know if that is going to happen. I'm going to give it my best shot though. I at least know the direction it's going in.

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The book was useless and boring. What was it about locator charms that inspired authors to share every insipid comment that came into their heads? Harry dropped the book to the table and slumped in the chair.

"No luck?" Jason turned to the next page of his book and dropped his chin back to his palm.

"I found nothing that could help find her. Even if we do find her we could set off alarms that make them change locations. Even assuming that we don't trip any alarms and they do stay there, just knowing where she is isn't going to make removing her from the hands of a bunch of bloodthirsty Death Eaters any easier."

Jason blinked, shook his head, and looked over. "What was that? I wasn't really listening."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You know exactly what I said and I'm not gullible enough to fall for having to repeat everything and end up putting it in a different and better light."

Jason shrugged and snapped the book closed. "Oh well. All good things must eventually come to an end. Here's your problem. You're thinking like you old self again. Remember? The one who thought that one action had one corresponding spell. Magic is more complicated than that and so is life. There is more than one solution to this problem."

"Like what?"

He circled his hands. "Write a spell then cast it and poof, Cali's complaining and stealing your clothes again."

Harry glared at him. "You know very well that my ability to write spells that actually do what they're meant to is nonexistent."

Jason shrugged and reopened the book. "There's always room for hope. I for one am currently hoping that I can find a way to go back in time so I can ask historical figures to be more concise in their writings so I can read them quickly and understand them."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Your example of hope is not at all heartening."

"No, it's not, is it? Oh well. How about I give you directions and the password to where we're staying? Will that help?"

Harry smiled. "Yes." He glanced around and leaned closer. "Sometimes I just need a break from everything here." He shrugged. "Though this is the first time that that has ever actually been an option."

"Don't we all." Jason tore a sheet out of his notebook and handed it to Harry. "You have to memorize this and then destroy it since we're not technically supposed to tell anyone. But it's you so I'm going to assume you don't fall under the rule or wouldn't follow it if you did."

Harry giggled and banished the words off the page. "So we've got to find a way to find her, opening the next door to the idea of a rescue, without letting them know we're trying to find her." He tapped his fingers on the table. We could try a tracking potion; send smoke of some kind out with Cali as the anchor. If we attached a compass spell we should be able to find out where it goes. Though even if you make the smoke translucent there is still a slight odor that they could pick up. We could see through her eyes, but dark dungeon with blood on the walls isn't very helpful when trying to find someone. Hm." Harry chewed on his lip as he flipped his quill between his fingers.

"At least you're seeing the big picture now. Now if you don't mind I'm going to continue to learn about Kashmir. Did you know that the sweaters are made of goat fur?" He scratched his head. "I think I may be translating wrong though. Maybe the word I think is goat actually means annoying foreigners or something."

Harry snorted and pulled out a sheet of parchment. He dipped his quill in the ink and jotted down what he wanted the outcome of the spell to be and various aspects that might make it work.

Madam Pince stopped next to the table holding a stack of books in her arms. "Dinner is starting soon. You might want to head that way."

Harry glanced at his watch. "Thank you."

She nodded and moved into the stacks as he shoved his books into his bag. "Are you guys coming?" They nodded and packed up their stuff. The trek to the Great Hall was silent except for Jason's mumbling about historians. "Do they really have to tell us _everything_ that happened? I for one could get by just knowing the country exists. Why do I need to know it major exports?"

Jessica coughed and stepped away from him. "So how are things going Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "Well this year the school doesn't think I'm a lunatic, a liar, or trying to kill students, so it's been a good year so far." Harry shook his head. "I'm sure there will be a new degrading rumor flying about in no time."

"Especially with us here." She grinned and giggled.

"Especially with you here, but I've gotten used to it. And this time if it gets too bad I can always escape to you guys. Unless you believe it too."

Jessica snorted. "Not likely. I think we know you a little too well."

Jason slipped up behind them. "But they've known him for five years. They wouldn't believe anything insane about him any more than we would."

Harry paused in the doorway to the Great Hall. "You'd be surprised." He shrugged. "I'll come by later with the plan I'm working on. There are a few obvious problems I want to work on before I try and figure out if there's anyway it would ever work."

"See you then." Jessica glanced around the tables, sighed, and walked in. Everyone else followed, and Harry broke off from the group and slid in next to Hermione.

"Talk with Draco didn't go well." Hermione leaned closer.

Did Draco come in looking mad or something? He glanced back. Draco was talking calmly to the people around him. "It went fine. I was just in the library working on some things"

"Oh." Hermione turned back to her dinner.

Harry sighed and turned to his own plate. What was wrong now? Shouldn't she be happy that I'm spending more time in the library? He finished eating as fast as he could and headed to the tower. He pulled the curtains shut around his bed and flipped through his potions book. A few ingredients cancelled each other out and he needed them all if there was any chance it was going to work. Nothing. He tossed the book to the end of the bed. Maybe a charm to keep their chemicals from converting into useless, unreactive forms would work. He grabbed his charms book and checked the table of contents. The book was too general and too low of a level to have what he needed. He yanked a book off the bottom of his trunk. He checked the contents and flipped to the page while humming to himself. He jotted down the charm and the side effects and put the parchment back in his bag. He slid out of bed and headed down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Ron and Hermione sat in the chairs by the fireplace.

"I wanted to find--I'm going to check--I'm going to study. In the library. Where it's quieter. I'll be back later. Bye." He smiled and walked out. He held back his grimace until the Fat Lady swung shut. Sometimes he could lie in someone's face without twitching and sometimes he really just sucked at it. He shrugged and jogged toward the stairs. They were staying halfway between Gryffindor Tower and the dungeons. He stopped at a blank wall between two paintings and pressed his hand against the round stone at the center. "Haven." His arm slipped through the stone and he stumbled into the room. It looked like the lounge at the Academy, only twice as big, with tables filling the other half of the room. Moonlight shown through the arch windows with the blue curtains pulled back. The tables were full of students writing on lined paper with ballpoint pens. Harry smiled. It really was a beautiful thing. The younger kids were gathered in front of the couches watching a movie. The only problem came from the fact that there was no screen and no TV. The pictures were emanating directly from the videotape cassette.

"Cute spell, huh?" Diana bumped into his shoulder.

"How did you manage that?"

She shrugged and polished her nails on her shoulder. "Well it is amazing what you can do when you're trying to memorize Latin verbs and there are fifty screaming little kids running around and playing tag. I wrote a spell and lookyhoo, it's a movie."

Harry smacked her shoulder. "Well then I guess it's a good think you're on my team because your genius will make up for my utter stupidity in this area."

"You just don't believe that you can do it. That's all that's holding you back." She shrugged. "So why have you joined our odd little family this night?"

He dogged the nerf ball that smacked into the wall behind him. A boy, around twelve, had his eyes locked on his paper and kept shifting in his chair. "I'm trying to combine like six different spells and tweak them to all work slightly differently than they're meant to. The problem is that parts of one spell cancel out parts of other spells. I think I've found a way to balance things out, but it's going to take awhile and it has to be done very carefully."

Diana nodded and threaded her arms through his bent elbow. "Well then let's work this out and get our girl back." She pulled him toward the middle couch and pushed him down into the pillows.

He pulled the piece of parchment out of his bag and handed it to her.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed a spiral notebook off the end table. "You've gone back in time again Potter."

He shrugged. "We have to adjust to the environment we're in."

"All right, but you're not going to see me writing with a quill anytime soon." She pulled her pen out of her hair, waved it in his face, and transferred his notes to the notebook. She picked up and parchment between two fingers and dangled it in front of his face.

I associate with freaks. He grabbed the parchment, ripped it in half, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into the garbage can. "Happy now? The evil parchment has been disposed of."

She nodded, gave him a wide grin, and started humming as she perused the page.

"Sh!" Lila, sitting on the floor between them coloring, smacked her leg. "This is the best part of the movie." Belle descended the stairs in her very large yellow dress. All the girls, including Diana, sighed.

Harry shook his head. Girls were strange no matter what country they came from.

Diana muttered something and pressed her hand to the page. The words glowed for a moment before fading back to normal. She ripped the page out of the notebook leaving an identical page below it. She shoved the paper at Jason as he wandered by. Jason scanned it as he headed up the staircase in the far corner. She pulled the next sheet off and folded it into a paper airplane. It soared a few feet before crash landing next to Jessica.

"How many times are you going to give people a random sheet of motes without telling then what it's all about?"

She giggled. "As many as I have people who don't ask why I'm throwing pieces of paper at them. How about an origami swan?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Can you do origami?"

Diana frowned and turned the paper around in front of her eyes. "No. Shouldn't it do it by itself or something?" She shook it. "Be a swan."

Harry laughed and grabbed the page from her. "Let's see if I can make a plane. I must practice the important things I learned this summer." He folded the paper and sent it toward Kyle who was building an erector set tower base in the corner. It landed on his foot. Harry sighed. "Oh well. Close enough."

Diana sent the rest of the papers flying to the far corners of the room. "Now let's take a look at what I can do here." She started filling the page with equations. Calculus people. They think math is the solution to everything.

Harry slid off the couch and Lila handed him a coloring book and slid her box of crayons closer to him. He pulled out brown and started coloring the dog's fur.

Lights surrounded the beast and lifted him into the air as he shifted back to his human form. The servants retook their old forms and the celebration began. The picture retreated into the tape.

Hands clapped three times. "Little ones it is time for bed. The rest of you tone it down. No silencing charms this time. Just don't be as loud." Biara leaned over the back of the couch. "Hello Harry. I see you had no trouble joining us. What are you working on?"

Harry chewed on his lip. I don't want to get her hopes up, but I want her to know that we're doing something. "I'm trying to combine some spells to be able to find her."

Biara moved over and kissed his forehead and ruffled his hair. "Wonderful. Come Lila, it's time for bed. Curfew is soon so you should head back to the Slytherin dorms."

Lila put her crayons back in the box and pushed it under the table. "Fine. I'll go."

Biara put her hands on her waist. "Don't use that tone with me young lady. You want to be back before Severus gives his speech and your absence is noted. You need to head back too Harry."

Harry stacked his book on hers and pushed to his feet. "I'm going. I'm going."

He and Lila walked to the door. He glanced back at Biara ushering a group of girls up the staircase in the center of the wall. "Are you doing okay with the Slytherins?"

She stepped through the wall and he followed. She glanced back over her shoulder at him. "Are you doing okay with the Gryffindors?" She walked down the stairs to the dungeons.

Harry sighed. "Touché." He walked down the hall and climbed the stairs yawning. He gave the password and the Fat Lady swung open. Everyone in the common room looked up at him.

McGonagall stood by the fireplace with her arms crossed over her chest. "It is after curfew Mr. Potter."

I always get caught. I think I need to work on that part of sneaking out. I've got the out part. Now I need to get the in part. "I was in the library."

She pursed her lips. "None of the students in the library saw you there."

Crap. I guess I need to work on alibis too. Why can't they just leave me alone? "I was in a dark corner. It's not surprising."

McGonagall took a deep breath and nodded. "The Headmaster has asked the heads of the houses to speak to their students to deal with any questions or concerns that have come up during the day or anything that you didn't feel comfortable asking in class. And of course you are always welcome to come see me one on one if you have any questions or concerns. Does anyone have anything to ask?"

Pointless questions filled the common room. It wasn't like McGonagall could answer questions about whether they had found out why the attack happened, how they had breached the wards, or what protections Hogwarts had that the Academy didn't. Why don't we just send the Death Eaters a manual, how to breach the Hogwarts wards and stage a successful attack.

Dean raised his hand. "Are the students going to be joining our classes?"

Professor McGonagall shook her head. "Their program of study is slightly different then ours. They will be continuing their classes as before in the empty classrooms around the castle." She paused and looked at each person. "You may see or hear some things that you think are strange. They study muggle subjects alongside magical ones and they have clubs and activities that may seem odd. Their culture, in both the magical and muggle communities are quite different from anything that we are used to, so I ask you to be very careful of your reactions. I have been told that that they are not easily insulted, but you would not want someone to insult how you lived your life if you were far from home. Their situation is not one they chose and you would do well to remember that. Now, it is getting late and you have classes tomorrow, so you should all head to bed." The common room emptied and Harry followed his dorm mates up the stairs.

Dean whistled as he pulled on his pajamas. "It's too bad they won't be in our classes. I saw some really cute girls at breakfast this morning."

Harry laughed and pulled on his pajamas. Girls on the brain. This should be an interesting game. Perhaps I should warn them that the girls all take self-defense and that two months of wand less defense won't protect him from them. Harry smiled. Nah. Hedwig flew in the window and landed on his bed. "Hey girl." He petted her hand and untied the letter.

"Who is it from?" Ron moved toward him and everyone else was watching them.

Harry smiled at him and pressed the note closed. "No one. Night guys." He hoped into bed and pulled the curtains closed. Hedwig's wings knocked papers to the floor and the window clicked shut. Harry unfolded the hello kitty stationary.

Chem class at six in the dungeons with Chris if sleep isn't your thing.

Jason

He ripped it into tiny pieces and dropped it in the trash. He set his alarm for five thirty and burrowed into the covers.

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The Great Hall was filling up for breakfast when they stumbled through the doors. Jason clapped Harry on the shoulder as they separated. "Six in the morning and no explosions. I think you're a good influence on us."

Harry stuck out his tongue and jogged to the table. "Hey guys." He piled eggs on his plate and covered them in pepper.

"Where were you this morning?" Ron stabbed at his food.

What's his problem now? "I was doing some extra work. I wasn't tired." He took a bite of his eggs. Yum. Spicy.

"You can't just keep disappearing all the time."

"Why not?" It's not like I'm doing drugs or practicing dark magic or something.

"I'm a prefect. I can't just let you do whatever you want." Ron dropped his fork to his plate.

Why not? You didn't do anything to stop Fred and George. Why are you trying to take this away from me? "If McGonagall has a problem with me spending my free time doing extra work then she can bring it up with me, but I won't take this shit from you." He pushed away from the table and stormed across the hall. He sat next to Jessica and filled another plate with eggs.

"Bad day?"

He sighed and dug into his food.

Jessica wagged a piece of bacon in his face.

He snorted, grabbed it, and popped it into his mouth. "Thanks."

She glanced behind her and patted his arm. "There's a school full of people that won't desert you not matter what Potter. Hogwarts isn't the only world you have access to anymore. It'll be all right no matter what happens."

Harry smiled and twirled his fork between his fingers. "That's really cheesy Jess." He gestured at his plate. "I'm trying to eat."

Jessica smacked his head and turned back to her bacon. "Bite me English boy."

Harry swallowed the last bite and stared at his empty plate. "That means I have to go to Potions now, doesn't it?"

Jessica looked at her watch. "Yeah me too." She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. "I think I'll have more fun though."

Harry groaned. "I have to miss Chris' potions class?"

She shifted closer. "Yeah, but potions lab is after curfew. He's spending all the time in between at his actual job. Janet took over the first level of advanced potions classes so that he could spend more time at the ministry since his commute time has increased a little bit."

Harry nodded and glanced around. "Maybe I'll come to lab."

"Won't you get into trouble with your little perfect friends?"

Harry glanced back as he picked up his bag. "Probably, but I'm not going to give up a chance to have time to actively work on finding Cali because they don't understand that I'm the same person that I was last year." He shook his head. "Optimism. The world is a happy and shiny place. I'm going to class. See you later." He headed out the doors and jogged toward the stairs.

"Harry, wait!" Hermione rushed up behind him.

"What?"

"You don't have to act like that." She pushed past him.

Harry sighed and bit back a groan. How do I always end up as the bad guy being overemotional in these situations? He jogged to catch up with her. "Hermione, wait. I was having a good time and then I got confronted and I overreacted. I'm sorry for that, but I'm not sorry that I got the chance to go to chemistry lab this morning and went."

"Chem lab?"

They walked into the Potions classroom. "Yes, but please keep it quiet. I'm pretty much supposed to stay out of it, but I don't want to. If I want to do twice the work then why shouldn't I?"

"Why shouldn't you what Mr. Potter?" Professor Snape moved down the aisle between the tables and pivoted to face them.

Harry took out his supplies and dropped his bag to the floor. "Why shouldn't I sit down, shut up, and learn about potions." He sat. "It seems like a wonderful idea."

Professor Snape shook his head and rubbed his temples. "Very good Mr. Potter." He moved to the chalkboard as everyone else streamed in. He flicked his wand at the board. "Begin."

Harry chopped ingredients while he waited for the base to boil. Professor Snape stalked around the room. He hovered over him. "Quarter inch slices Potter."

Harry glanced at his quarter inch slices and nodded. "Yes sir." Professor Snape turned to move on. "Professor? Is there a way to negate the acid in oranges from breaking up calcium nitrate?"

Professor Snape folded his arms over his chest. "For what purpose?"

"Increasing the range and duration of a potion while destroying the scent it would normally produce."

Professor Snape tapped his fingers on his arm. "It would require a buffer of some sort, ideally that would attach itself to one of the substances to prevent it's interaction with the second substance."

The calcium nitrate doesn't need to interact with anything, it works on it's own, so if I buffered that with something then that part should work out if the buffer itself doesn't interact with anything. "Thank you sir."

He nodded and moved to the Slytherin side of the room.

"Harry?" Hermione glanced at him before turning back to her potion.

Something just shifted. Harry shrugged and shifted closer, dropping the root slices into the cauldron. "It's a tracing potions to try and find Cali. I'm--well we're--working to alter it to have it act as we need it to. We have to combine a few potions with charms. It's like trying to balance a stack of books on one of those rubbed noodles."

Hermione snorted. "Rubber noodles? What are you talking about?"

Harry poured in two drops of bat bile. "Those fun noodle things. They're made of foam. They're pool toys. They bend a lot."

Hermione smiled. "Got it. Do you--do you need any help?"

Harry blinked, then smiled. "You'd be willing to help me with this?"

Hermione shrugged. "I flew on a hippogriff. In comparison this should be nothing."

Harry smiled and dropped in the next ingredient. He bit his lip and glanced around. "It will mean meeting after curfew."

"Why?"

"Potions lab is after curfew so Chris can spend more time at the ministry. Everyone will be in the same place at the same time with no younger kids to watch over or worry about. If you're not comfortable with that I totally understand and won't blame you a bit for backing out."

Hermione shook her head. "No. I want to help." She looked toward Professor Snape, still wandering around the Slytherins. "I want to know how--the atmosphere you spent the summer in, so maybe I can understand what changed."

He turned the heat under his cauldron down. "What about Ron?"

Hermione sighed. "He's not ready for this yet. He's too hostile."

"No shit."

Hermione smacked his arm. "You're mysterious, you disappear, and you never spend any time with us. You have to admit that he has reasons to be hostile. He always overreacts to things like this as you well know."

Harry sighed. "So how do I disappear after curfew without making things worse?"

"I'm afraid that's you problem. My roommates don't care where I go. I'm sure they all assume I'm in the library or doing homework in the common room."

"And they're wrong?" Harry ducked her arm and laughed. "Okay. Okay. You're a wild girl and go out partying in the middle of the night."

She filled her bottle with potions and closed it. "That's better." She grabbed his bottle and set them on Professor Snape's desk.

Harry cleaned out his cauldron and followed Hermione to Transfiguration. He sat next to Ron. Time to suck it up and be a good little friend. It's not his fault that he doesn't understand. "Sorry I acted like a prat this morning."

Ron tapped his fingers on the desk. "Are you going to stop doing it?"

Ugh. I say no, which is the truth, and he stays mad at me. If I lie he'll get mad when I disappear tonight. "Stop being a prat? It doesn't seem like a likely option considering my past interaction with that attitude."

Ron scowled. "You know what I meant. Are you going to stoop going out after curfew?"

Harry sighed. He's really serious about it this time. Let's try for the truth since lying doesn't seem to have accomplished much. "I need to feel like I'm doing something to find her. The only time we all have few is after curfew." Ron turned away and Harry pulled him back. "She's like my sister. What would you do if they had Ginny?"

Ron dropped his eyes to the ground. He swore. "Anything I could." He rubbed his head. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Not unless you've suddenly gotten good at potions. "Not right now. It's all experimental potions and combining different kinds of magic. I don't even really know what I'm doing. I'm just getting swept away in the tide and trying to give a different point of view on things."

Ron nodded. "You should try and get Hermione to help."

"Really?" Did he really just suggest bringing Hermione in on something he's being left out of?

"Yeah. Of course. She's better at potions than either of us. That is if you can get her to break curfew." Ron snorted.

Hermione smacked them both. "Stop saying things like that or I'm not helping either of you with your homework any more."

McGonagall entered the room and shut the door behind her. "We will be continuing out work from the last class. The problem most of you seemed to encounter was the unusual wand movement associated with the spell. Concentrate on that today. I will be helping you all individually."

Hermione pushed their wands down when they moved to cast the spell. "I have things to do that don't involve visiting either of you in the hospital wing, so why don't you practice the wand movement for awhile." She moved to practice with Padma.

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes. And flicked and swished their wands in the patter McGonagall had shown them in the last class.

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Please review to keep me writing and moving forward. I am determined to finish this story.


	33. The power of song

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

I am so not happy with this chapter, but I'm posting it anyway. Grr. I've done little in the past few weeks. I need to go running. Sorry if this chapter really bites. I know where I'm going and I just have to get there. I know some parts of this chapter may seem stupid and pointless and cheesy, but try to hang with me because it's going somewhere. If I get to that point and you still think it's stupid, then you can complain all you want and I'll probably be whining right next to you.

I broke 100 reviews for the first time ever! Thank everyone so much for taking the time to respond. That's one of the only things keeping me going right now. Hugs and kisses to all.

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Harry and Ron sat on either side of Hermione. She was running her fingers over the page of notes hidden in her lap while taking a bite with the other hand every time she remembered she had food. "This is incredible. There is no reason why any of these things should combine to get what you want, but all the calculations and substitutions make sense. It looks like it will work. You weren't kidding when you said that it's hard to balance everything. It's going to take at least a month to make this all work, maybe even two."

Harry sighed and bit into his sandwich. "I know. It's too long. We can't wait that long, but there's nothing else that has as good of a chance at working. "

Hermione tapped her fork on her plate. "You can't speed it up by altering the heat or adding anything else because it would cause the whole thing to fail and no doubt blow up."

Harry yawned and shook his head. His eyes refocused. He dropped the sandwich to the plate. "I know. I've accepted that it's going to take time. We just have to order and write down everything, get all the ingredients, and make sure nothing's been left out. There can't be any errors, so everything has to be laid out and the instructions have to be perfectly clear."

"Well obviously." Hermione stabbed at her plate. "This is going to take master brewers. At least four of them."

Ron clapped her on the shoulder. "Well we've got you, so that's one."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I may be able to set a potion like this up, but I don't have anywhere near the skill to do it. I don't know where you're going to find enough people with the skill to brew this." She pulled her lip between her teeth.

Harry shrugged. "No big deal. We've got eleven advanced potion students, Chris, and Professor Snape."

Ron spit out his pumpkin juice. "Snape? What makes you think that Snape would help with this?"

Harry bit his lip. If I tell them the truth he'll have me eviscerated. "It's a psychotic spell. It's a challenge. Wouldn't you want to try something complicated if you spent every day showing children how to do things that you find simplistic?" Good excuse? Did that make any sense or was I just babbling?

Ron squinted his eyes. "I guess so." He shook his head. "Whatever. I still think you're insane and he would never help. Why would he want to help out anyone? He's just a bastard."

Harry shrugged. It's amazing how little we know about people before we go ahead and judge them. What did I really know about Malfoy before I started hating him? Okay, bad example. He said a number of things I hated him for. Oh well. Hope I don't have to defend the moral high ground to anyone soon. "I guess we'll see." He pushed the plate to the middle of the table. "Let's get to class." He pulled the page out of Hermione's hands, ignoring her protests, and shoved it back into his backpack.

They pulled their cloaks close as they headed toward Hagrid's hut. A huge bonfire burned with their early classmates gathered around it. They joined the group and let their cloaks fall open a bit.

Hagrid clapped his hands as he moved toward the fire. "All right class, today we will be learning about mankins. They'll be attracted by the fire and come out of the forest. Now these little creatures--"

"Mishel! Come back!" Two girls in Academy black skirts, white shirts, and their hair in pigtail braids ran across the courtyard chasing a dog.

Harry squinted. Did they say Mishel? The Peradu leapt onto a stone next to the fire. Harry leaned over and scratched him behind the ears.

The girls pulled up short. The blonde, Julie, flipped her braids over her shoulders. "Sorry, he got away from us." She pulled in big breaths. She moved over and bent to pick him up. Mishel hissed and she sighed. "I don't know what you're saying."

Harry smiled. "He said that he likes the fire and he won't let you braid his hair again."

Julie bit her lip. Her friend crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her tongue at him. "Of course we wouldn't do that. He didn't look happy last time." A smile slipped onto her face. "He did look cute though. We have pictures."

Harry shook his head and picked up Mishel. So this is the girl with the camera. Let's hope she's not the true female version of Colin. One person taking my picture is quite enough. Mishel licked his nose and he laughed. Harry handed him over and with a quick goodbye they sprinted back toward the castle.

Harry looked at everyone staring at him. Whoops. Do not draw attention to self. That leads only to news articles and gossip. I do not spend any extra time with the Academy students. Nope. Not at all. "Sorry. What about the mankins?"

Hagrid blinked and cleared his throat. "Well, where was I? Uh, right. Well, these creatures thrive on heat. They can make their own heat in the winter, but they like to find hot places because they can store the heat so they don't' have to work as hard."

Leaves rustled in the wind. Harry blinked. Only the one tree moved. The others were still. There wasn't any wind. Leaves detached from the trees, soared through the air, and settled around the base of the fire.

Hagrid grinned. "Here they are. Now everyone move close and study them. They're such interesting creatures. Mind how close you get though. I don't want anyone gettin' set on fire."

Harry moved up a knelt by the nearest green blob. The light flashed over it and the edges snapped into focus. It looked like a folded leaf, so when it unfolded it would look like a butterfly. The mankin turned and spread out. It dropped the leaves it held and stepped closer to the fire. It shimmered as it absorbed the heat. It looked like a fairy covered in caterpillar fuzz. Harry leaned closer.

A hand latched onto his robe and lightly pulled him back. "Watch it there Harry. Don't want you to get hurt."

Harry stepped back. "Sorry Hagrid."

Hagrid watched Mishel and the girls running toward the castle. "Where did they get a Peradu?" He looked down at Harry and moved closer. "Didn't it look a lot like the Peradu I showed the class?"

Yikes. Harry shrugged. "I don't know. A little maybe."

Hagrid folded his arms over his chest. "How did you know what it said?"

Harry coughed. Hope he won't be mad that I didn't tell him before. "Parseltongue. It sounds a little different, but it's close enough for me to understand."

Hagrid blinked and dropped his arms. "Really?"

Harry nodded and turned toward the mankin. Now it's time to change the subject before he figures out to ask what Mishel said to me in class. "Yes. Where do the mankins live? And why is the heat important?"

Hagrid moved back to address the whole class. "Mankins live with the Peradu. The heat they create keep the Peradu warm through the winter. Also, since the mankins are attracted to heat sources, they can find warm areas for the Peradu to live."

The mankin hopped closer to the fire and held its arms out to its sides. Waves of red and orange swirled across its body. The glow expanded across its arms and legs. When it reached its fingers and toes it grabbed the leaves, wrapped it back in them, and flew toward the forest. The rest were doing the same.

"Once they have gotten all the heat they can hold they go back to the Peradu to warm their habitat. For next class I want an essay on how they get and control the heat. Class dismissed."

Harry picked up his bag and headed back to the castle. He covered his mouth as he yawned. Too bad he had charms. Sleep would be very nice right about now.

"Harry." Hermione yanked on his sleeve, pulling him to a stop. "That Peradu was the one we studied in class, isn't it? You sent it to the Academy."

Harry sighed. How does she come to the right conclusion with barely any evidence whatever? He blinked to clear the white from his eyes. "Yes." He pushed her fingers off his sleeve and walked forward again.

Hermione stomped up beside him. "How could you? He lived free with his own kind in the woods. How could you rip him out of there and--"

I can't believe she'd believe I'd do it for no reason. Oh look, fuzzy creature, let's send it to another continent. Why do they always think-- "If a Peradu is captured by a human they can never return to their group and they die when the cold weather hits."

"Why would you think that? Hagrid didn't say--"

He turned and she pulled up short in front of him. "Hagrid doesn't speak Parseltongue. I can understand them Hermione, and I wasn't going to let one die so that we could pass a class." He spun away.

Hermione grabbed him and turned him back. "I--I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just assumed." She rubbed her forehead. Her pupils were dilated. Harry glanced at the clouds. "We all just assume, don't we? I think you'll do foolhardy things, everyone thinks I do nothing but study, and Ron couldn't even imagine that Snape would be willing to help save someone's life. We don't bother to see the truth about people and--"

Kevin kept glanced around the people he stood behind. Harry spun Hermione around and pulled the sticker off her neck.

"Ow." She clapped her hand to the spot. "Why did you--What was that?"

A Power Rangers sticker. That manages to make it all the more pathetic. Harry crumpled it and stuck it in his bag. "A sticker with a potion on it. This particular potion causes epiphanies about the truth of the universe, or makes you remember every corny lesson anyone ever taught you." He shrugged. "They never did figure out what it actually did. It's a botched truth potion they tested for safety and interactions. They ended up concluding it was harmless and sometimes amusing so you don't have to worry about side effects or anything." He pressed his lips together. "You should probably pay closer attention to who's around you and what they're doing. If they'd wanted to hurt you they could have coated it in poison."

She rubbed her neck as she looked around. She edged closer to him.

He laughed. "Don't get over paranoid though. They, at least, wouldn't try to poison you, and I don't think the death eaters are going to run out and buy stickers, if they even know what a sticker is." He chewed on his lip. Do they know what stickers are? Maybe I'll ask Ron. "Plus, the last thing we need is a second Moody running around the place." He grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs. "Let's go to charms so I can go back to my room and catch a nap before potions lab tonight."

Hermione glanced behind her and sped up. "Can I see the paper again?"

I think I've created a monster. "Yeah. I'll give it to you once we get back to the dorm."

Hermione smiled. "Wonderful. Then I can have some uninterrupted time to look at it. I've never seen a potion try to do so many things at once. I think something is missing from the equation, but I couldn't figure out what at lunch."

They walked into Charms and found their seats just as class started.

Professor Flitwick climbed onto his stool. "Now today we are going to begin the topic that is always the hardest for students to cast. This is not an exceptionally difficult charm, but students are often not willing to cast it in front of others. For this reason we will be splitting the class into small groups depending on your willingness to cast it in front of certain classmates. Now I know you're all wondering what it is that we are going to be casting." He sat and picked a book off his desk. "Today we are beginning enhancement charms. They can make other charms more powerful. The challenging part of this particular charm is that it is controlled mostly by the mind. No specific incantation is used to power it. Does anyone know what the vocal component of it is?"

Harry raised his hand and Flitwick nodded to him. "Singing."

"Exactly Mr. Potter. The energy and emotions that are generated when we sing, when channeled correctly by the mind, can increase the power of a charm astoundingly. Now generally I personally give a demonstration to show the power that is possible, as that makes students a lot more open to it, but this year we have a stupendous opportunity. Our visitors have an advanced charms class that is working on the charm and have become quite proficient at it. They have agreed to give us a peek at their class, so why don't we all head to the classroom at the far end of the hall to see what this charm is capable of." He jumped off the stool, set the book on his desk, and led the class down the hall. They filed in and took the seats across the back wall.

Harry smirked as he settled in between Hermione and Ron. It was the twelve, well the eleven since neither he nor Cali was with the group. I guess that's what happens when you spend every summer getting ahead of your year mates. You end up in the advanced classes with your summer friends.

Garin, or Professor Mckay as she'd kill you if you dared call her, clapped her hands. The sound echoed off the twelve or fifteen foot ceiling. "Single levitation. Grab you items."

Everyone grabbed something off the table against the far wall and lined up across the room.

"Drop it."

Everyone dropped what they held, said the charm, and levitated it. They floated slowly in the air.

"Drop it."

Their wands went to their sides and koosh balls, stuffed animals, and random toys bounced off the floor. The rubber duck squeaked as it hit the stone and Jessica snorted.

"Who's got a song stuck in their head that I can stand?" She waved her hand to cut them off. "The first person to suggest toxic gets their head blown off. You've been singing nothing but that song for three days. I'd also appreciate something with clean lyrics."

Everyone sighed and Diana pouted.

Jessica shrugged. "How about the opening theme to Tarzan?"

Garin smiled and stepped out of the way. "Two worlds it is. Single levitation still please. If it's getting more difficult as we combine, try using a harmonizing key to separate out your magic from the group."

They raised their wands and stepped up. They started singing, a few harmonies blending in perfectly. In a few seconds the objects shot straight into the air and jerked to a stop barely missing the ceiling before dropping and hovering inches above the floor. They moved into a circle and starting moving up and down like a merry go round. The class broke into whispers. Ron's jaw hung open.

Garin clapped and the singing stopped and the things dropped. "Now together. Combine the power of the charm." She glanced around. "How about something harder to control? Maybe with magical energy of its own to disrupt the charm's field a little bit. Are you up for it?"

Diana giggled. "Let's go for it."

Garin rubbed her hands together. "What to float, what to float?" A grin spread across her face. "What about it Ja--Harry? Up for it?"

Harry smiled, stood, and dropped his robe to the chair. "I never back down from a challenge milady." He walked to the middle of the room.

Jason clapped his hands on Harry's shoulders. "I promise to try not to drop you, but I don't promise to succeed."

Harry rolled his eyes. "And I feel oh so comforted by that fact. Thanks."

They formed a half circle around him and lifted their wands.

Garin sat in Harry's seat. "How about the wicked spell? Please? I miss my song. You guys understand what I'm saying?"

"Yeah." They started singing and his feet left the ground. He hovered eight feet in the air and started to twist like the Beast as he transformed into his human self. He turned slowly, so it wasn't like the spinning ball at the amusement park, but his head still hurt a little. The words finally reached him. Geez. Everyone in the class was likely to freak out. They had to pick the song that sounds like a spell all on its own, didn't they?

_Elecka Namen Namen atum atum Elecka Namen _

_Elecka Namen Namen atum atum Elecka Namen _

_Let his flesh not be torn, let his blood leave no stain, _

_If they beat him let him feel no pain. _

_Let his bones never break and however they try to destroy him _

_Let him never die. Let him never die._

His feet brushed the ground and the voices stopped.

The entire class looked terrified. Damn.

Garin jumped up and clasped her hands together. "Wow. Amazing control. I know you could do it once you had something in the air that you didn't want to drop. He didn't even explode like the watermelon." She flicked her wand and all the stuff on the floor flew back to the table. "Though I now want my soundtrack more than ever." She shooed Harry back to the class. "Thanks for not fighting back. That could have been messy."

Harry snorted. "Thanks for warning a guy that the people about to levitate him have been blowing stuff up."

Jason snapped his fingers. "It's all about trust. He trusted us not to drop him because he trusted that we knew that he knew that if we dropped him on his head we'd have a bunch of English wizards gunning for us."

Garin squinted and shook her head. "Forget it. I don't care what you just said. You guys did awesome today. Now just answer any questions that they've got and I'll bake cookies." She sighed. "I really want a cookie."

Harry sat and ignored Hermione and Ron staring at him.

Jason opened his arms. "Any questions?" No one moved. "How about what everyone always asks? What if you can't sing well? That's an easy one. This isn't about singing. This is about power. I understand that we're all in school and it's about looking cool and getting girls, but if you don't do it now you're going to go out into the world and not be able to protect yourself to your full potential. Looking stupid won't matter if you're dead." He sighed. "And for any muggleborns that might actually understand this, if you've ever been to karaoke, it's all about the people who can't sing. It's about having the courage to admit you aren't perfect at everything and yet still being willing to do it." He shrugged. "That's my spiel, so I'm done."

Flitwick cleared his throat. "If no one has any questions let's go back to the classroom. I want you to divide into groups where you are willing to sing in front of the others. If there's no one like that, it's all right. Just make the attempt to form the biggest groups possible."

Harry ignored the whispers as he walked into the classroom.

Hermione was speechless. She dropped into the chair and stared straight ahead.

"Hermione?" He poked her arm.

She barely twitched. "Did you see that? I mean, I guess you didn't see it. But you were--I mean--just levitating someone is complicated. To have that level of control is just astounding. They must have been working on that forever."

Harry patted her back. "Yeah. They've been working on it for a few months. Levitating small things individually is apparently not too hard, but Jason said that combining your magic with everyone else without a verbal incantation for a guide is complicated. But, um, Hermione, I think we're supposed to be forming groups right now."

Hermione blinked and jumped up. "Well of course. What are you waiting for?"

Harry shook his head and followed her across the room. Padma only glanced at him before saying she didn't think she could sing in their group. Four other girls had the same reaction. Hermione scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. "This is ridiculous. None of them even know if you can sing well." Frowning she glanced back at him. "Can you sing well?"

Harry shrugged. "Depends on who you ask. I think I'm bad, but Jason insists that an angel is trapped in my vocal cords." Harry smiled. Jason had started stumbled into his room drunk and collapsed on his bed. He'd made the proclamation about his voice, started humming the Battle Hymn of the Republic, and passed out.

Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville joined them by the high windows. "Well this is our group." Seamus snorted. "Couldn't find anyone else willing to sing in front of Harry Potter."

Harry glared at him and leaned against the wall pouting. The room was split into islands of people. They had the largest group, and five people stood around the room, alone, looking scared but set on their decision. He dropped his head back and closed his eyes. If I didn't have to pay attention, or at least stay awake to find out when I have to go to class, I'd go to sleep.

"Harry." Hermione shook his arm.

His eyes snapped open. Flitwick stood on his stool and the class fell silent. "Now that you're in our groups you're free to go. The schedule will be posted in each common room this evening."

They filed out the door and headed off.

"Are you awake yet Harry?" Hermione walked away from him.

Does that mean she's mad at me again? He sighed and pushed off the wall as she walked out the door. "No. I'm not." His knees buckled.

"Harry!" Arms wrapped around his chest and lowered him to a chair.

Professor Flitwick stood in front of him. "Are you all right Mr. Potter?"

Neville looked at him, worrying his lip between his teeth.

Well, at least now I know someone will catch me if I fall. "I'm all right. I just got a little dizzy."

"Are you sure you're all right?"

Harry stood and moved away from them. "Yes." He stumbled into a desk. Damn.

Neville pulled him back into the chair.

Professor Flitwick lifted Harry's head and looked into his eyes. "When's the last time you ate?"

"Ate? At lunch." What is this about?

"What did you eat?"

"A sandwich. Why?"

"Did you finish it?"

Did I? Oh crap. Low glucose levels leading to lack of energy and dizziness. I'm doing it again. "Oops?"

Professor Flitwick sighed. "How much did you eat?"

Harry shrugged. "A bite or two. I was a little distracted. I'd better go eat. I should have stuff in my room." He slipped past him and rushed out the door. The corridor was empty. He pushed back into an alcove around the corner. This hall didn't go anywhere important. It should be okay to just rest for a minute.

"Harry."

Damn. Neville stood in front of him. "Hi."

"If you were okay you wouldn't be hiding in an alcove."

That is a good point. Very good point. "I'll be fine. I just haven't eaten in--I'm okay."

"Harry why don't we go back to the tower the long way? No one should be in the back corridors."

Harry sighed and nodded. "Good. Yeah. That's good." He moved out of the alcove. Neville grabbed his arm as he stumbled. "Just fine. Just need a little food. Double chocolate chunk cookies with--I don't need food. What am I thinking? I just need a nap is all. Overtired. I've been eating too much. I should eat less. That's the answer." He smiled and looked around. "Neville did we just go down stairs?"

"Yes." Neville pulled him along.

"Isn't the tower up the stairs?"

"I'm taking you to the hospital wing."

"What?" Harry pulled back. "No. Why?"

Neville took a deep breath and grabbed his arm pulling him forward. "You aren't all right. You're acting weird."

"Harry? You okay there good buddy?" Kyle hopped in front of them.

"I'm fine. I don't need to go to the hospital wing."

Kyle narrowed his eyes. "Okay." He grabbed Harry's chin and tilted his head up. "You didn't eat. Come on in. Well have tea or something. Whatever it is you English people eat when you're psychotic." He shrugged. "Whatever. You're Neville, right? Come on it. Mom won't mind." He pressed his hand to the wall and whispered.

Harry smiled. "Kyle, when did you get here?"

Kyle sighed and pulled Harry and Neville through the wall. He led them past the lounge and through a door on the far side. They walked into another lounge. The eleven were spread around a table covered with Chinese food cartons.

Harry pulled away and hopped over before dropping to the floor. "Dumplings?"

Jason laughed and nodded toward the carton in front of him.

Harry grabbed the box and pulled a dumpling out. He finished it in three bites and pulled out another.

Diana grabbed the carton. "No hogging the dumplings English boy."

Kyle led a stiff Neville toward the table. "He hasn't eaten much today. He's probably going into glycemic shock or something."

Diana held the carton out of his reach and gestured toward the table. "Then you should eat something more substantial with vegetables because vegetables are good for you."

Harry made another grab for the dumplings.

Jessica waved a box in the air. "Curry chicken?"

Harry froze and shifted his eyes between the two cartons. "Damn." He reached over and took the curry chicken. Kevin tossed him a pair of chopsticks. Harry popped the carton open and dug in. It was the perfect Curry blend. His head shot up. "You guys went to Harin's."

Jason hummed and scratched his head. "Of course we didn't. That would be illegal leaving of the castle grounds. You know we're not allowed to leave. Especially not to go back to town. Especially not for Chinese food."

And I've never snuck out of the castle either. "Of course."

Jason winked. "We orphans gotta band together brother."

"Orphans?" Neville sat on the couch staring at the group.

Diana shrugged and slurped the last of her dumpling into her mouth. "We are the twelve orphans of the Academy. It was the fake twelve since there are eleven of us since Cali's not an orphan, but Harry here makes twelve and we end up with our own little fake coven going on. It's very cool."

Neville's eyes darted between them.

Harry sighed and pulled Neville off the couch and onto the floor next to him. "They live at the school all year round. That's why they're all in the same advanced classes."

Neville looked around again. "You're the ones we saw in Charms."

Kyle bowed his head. "That is us. Do you know how many people have asked us to levitate them after that? It's a disaster. The only reason we didn't blow up Harry is because we know his magical signature so it's easier to ignore and work with."

Harry patted Neville's shoulder. "I spent the summer with them. If you could keep that to yourself that would be great since I'm not supposed to tell anyone."

Kevin nodded. "Yeah. You suck at the whole secrets thing. Like when Cali told you not to tell anyone that--"

Harry chucked a carrot at him. "That is a totally different story. It was funny and I couldn't keep it a secret since every time I looked at her I'd start laughing." He shrugged. "Whatever. She forgave me and S--Uncle hasn't killed me yet, so it's all right. Anyway, I'm bringing another to lab tonight. Maybe two. She--" Oh crap. I didn't give her the page. "--is going to kill me. I said I'd give her the page of calculations after charms."

"Hermione?" Neville smiled. "Then I'd have to agree. No matter what you say to her, if you don't do it you're in trouble. I forgot to give her potions notes back when I said I would and I thought she was going to kill me."

Harry sighed. "And she was already mad at me for falling asleep in Charms. Neville, if I gave it to you could you get it to her?"

"Sure."

Harry pulled the page out of his bag. He found a blank sheet and scribbled out the time and place of potions lab. He chewed on his lip. _Bring Ron along. _He signed his name to the bottom and folded it in with the other page. He handed it to Neville. "Thanks so much."

Neville smiled. "It's no problem."

Kyle pushed off the floor. "I'll show you out. We don't want Mom to swoop down and attack. I'm going to wander through the castle. I'm not hungry and if I stay I know I'll eat all the lo mein on the table."

Neville and Kyle left the room, the door slamming shut.

Jessica waited for all of thirty seconds. "Snape hasn't done anything to you for telling everyone that he filled the kitchen with Jell-O when he tried to use Cali's special brand of wandless magic?"

Harry smirked and gestured to the side with his chopsticks. "Well I'm not too sure that he knows I told everyone, so don't mention it or anything, but he's not glaring at me anymore than usual. He's actually been nicer to me because Biara asked him to go easy on me in Occlumency lessons."

"How's that going anyway?" Diana handed over the dumplings.

"I'm good enough that I don't need to go to lessons anymore. I haven't had a Voldemort shaped nightmare in over a month. The last one I had was because I was exhausted and feel asleep without clearing my mind first. Let me tell you, it's nice to finally be able to sleep without worrying about him popping into my mind." He smiled. "Pass the fried noddley things please."

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I know that the end seems out of character, but I think my mind just supplied the reason, so it might work out after all. :) Review and make me a happy person that never leaves the house. sighs I really need to go to the park or something.


	34. I don't know what to call it

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

We are getting so close to the point where I don't know where the story is going to go. Luckily I'm going back to school and my suitemate sounding board soon.

So for the inside joke about the Defense professor. Just a warning, it's not that funny unless you were sitting in our suite because a lot of things are funnier when you're stressed out and escaping your room and avoiding work. Ichy is short for Ichabod, his last name of course being Crane from the Legend of Sleepyhollow. I believe he gave a different name to the class, Sartoris I believe because I was studying muscles of the fetal pig when writing that chapter. It was a fake name to disguise his identity, but Harry couldn't think of him by that name, so I didn't try and force him. giggles Must stop listening to my characters. Anywho, the whole point was that my Jenny Bear left the answer in her review so she'll get the cookie of her choice, but she cheated since I told her, so Maggie gets a cookie too. Hugs and kisses to all.

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Harry curled on top of the table and pulled his robe closer. Why did the dungeons have to be so cold?

"Are you okay Harry?" Chris brushed the hair off his forehead.

"I'm just so tired. I can't wake up." He forced his eyes open but they drifted back down.

Chris pressed the back of his palm against Harry's forehead. "You have a fever. I'll get a cooling potion."

Harry pressed his hands to his ears. "Be quiet. Why won't they stop talking? It hurts."

The footsteps moved toward him, echoing through the voices. Two fingers pressed against his neck. "No one else is in the room Harry. They went to get supplies and talk to Severus."

Harry shook his head. "I hear them. They're everywhere. I can't get away. It's never quiet. Why can't it just be quiet for a minute?"

"Harry, where are you?"

He pulled his robe closer and moved his knees closer to his chest. "It's too cold. Why can't it be warmer? He pressed his forehead to the floor. The stone was cold. Everything was cold. He was so cold. He was hot. He was-- "Cali." His eyes shot open.

"What?" Chris's hand froze on his cheek.

"She's cold and sick. We have to get her out."

The door slammed. Jason dropped the bottles on the first table he passed and hopped onto the table next to Harry. "Where is she?"

"I don't know. Would I bother with the potion if--"

"Close your eyes. Where are you?"

"I'm sitting in a bloody potions--" He scrunched his forehead. "I'm underground. It's not a dungeon. A basement. I can hear people moving outside the door. There are always voices. I think there are guards outside the door." Harry opened his eyes and sighed as he pulled his robe closer around him. "I guess I was right. Seeing through her eyes isn't going to help us find out where she is."

Chris grabbed Harry and Jason's chins and turned them toward him. "What is going on? How can you see that?"

Harry shrugged.

Jason pushed Chris's hand away. "The connection they formed was so powerful that it had some residual effects. Cali used to have flashes of what was going on here."

Chris rubbed his forehead. "And no one told me of this because?"

"Because you'd get mad?" Jason shrugged. "She said it was like having premonitions of the present. The connection was there, but she couldn't turn it on when she wanted. It just happened. And it only happened two or three times, so it wasn't serious. She said it felt like it was breaking down. Have you ever had flashes of Cali?"

"No." She doesn't even bother to tell me what's happening.

"If Harry's seeing her now then the connection is probably failing even more. Cali was getting flashes because she initiated the connection. It's breaking down and back lashing in the opposite direction."

"Harry?" Hermione shifted on her feet in the doorway. Ron stood next to her, eyes darting around. The eleven were scattered around, dropping ingredients on the various tables.

Damn. I don't think I needed them to think I'm any weirder than they already thought I was. He shook his head. "What?"

"Are you all right?" She chewed on her thumbnail.

Jason ruffled Harry's hair. The warming charm spread all the way to his toes.

Harry stretched his arms over his head. It felt wonderful to finally be warm. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Do we have everything we need?"

Remara pulled the sucker out of her mouth with a slurp. "We're only missing the wolfsbane."

Professor Snape stood in the doorway. "Well well, if it isn't three little Gryffindors out of bed."

Ron's face turned white. "We were--"

"And it's amusing that you believe I care. Move."

Hermione grabbed Ron and pulled him to the side.

Professor Snape stalked over to Chris. He pulled a jar out of his robes and set it on the table. "Wolfsbane as you requested. What are you planning to do with it?"

Chris smiled, pulled a copy of the calculations out of his bag, and handed it to him.

Professor Snape's eyebrows rose. "This is--there is no possible way that it could--" He dropped into a chair as he ran his finger across the page. His forehead crinkled. "Something is wrong."

Hermione was bouncing on her toes. She took a deep breath and walked up next to Harry. "There's nothing to tie the potion together. The separate components will work separately, but there's nothing to combine them and allow them to work as one spell."

Professor Snape frowned and glanced down again. "She is correct."

Ron's eyes bulged. Harry spoke before Ron could say something stupid. "Is there any way to fix it? And is it really that big of a deal?"

Professor Snape glared at him. "Have you learned nothing?"

Harry sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. "Apparently not. Why don't you educate me on why I'm a moron this time?"

Snape folded his arms over his chest. "Without something to connect the components together the separate products created by the individual reactions will continue to react and with the products in this combination it would be likely to level half of the school."

Harry rubbed his forehead. "Oh. So without a connection it's not only useless but dangerous. Damn." He growled. "I told you guys I couldn't write spells. Just write a spell Harry they say." He crinkled his nose. "Is there any way to make the potion do what I want it to do?"

Hermione jumped onto the table on Harry's other side. "All of the options I looked at would alter the nature of the components. The parts are so different that everything seems to affect at least a part of it."

Megara chewed on her pen cap. She pulled it out of her mouth slurping the spit off it. "Isn't there something that connects potions without interacting with anything? We used it in that potion, um; the one that turned pretty rose when it was ruined, so half of us ruined it."

Professor Snape rolled his eyes as Chris snorted. "I thought I'd almost blocked that out. What potion was that?"

Harry scratched the back of his neck. "It was the experimental healing potion, wasn't it? When Kevin sprained his ankle and we couldn't take his whining anymore?"

Chris nodded. "Yeah, that's it." He cringed. "That never did work, did it? We were trying to avoid mixing anything that would alter the mistletoe. The connector was--" He scratched his head and snapped his fingers a few times. "I have no idea. Wait. Isn't that the time you refused to tell me what you were putting in? You would only say that you were almost sure it wouldn't explode."

Professor Snape made a choking sound. "You let them--Are you insane?"

Chris shrugged and dropped into a chair. "I have to accept that they know what they're doing, or I wouldn't allow them to make half of the potions they do."

Diana chewed on her thumbnail. "Maybe, possibly, just this once, you should have stopped us."

Kyle shifted his weight from foot to foot. "She does have a point. This once."

Chris pushed himself to his feet and looked around the room. Everyone avoided meeting his eyes. "Tell me. Now."

Harry cleared his throat. "We might just have used, um, my blood." He dropped his head as he mumbled the last part.

"You did what?!"

Everyone moved back a few steps. Harry slid back to the edge of the table.

Chris growled. "I am going to kill you."

"That would not work." Professor Snape stood and cut off Chris's rant. "Human blood will not tie a potion together."

Jason slid off the table and took a few more steps away from Chris. "In general that's true and we never did get to potion to function as it was meant to, but that was more of a balance problem then anything else. Harry's blood isn't normal. We did blood tests when he sat in on our biology lab. His blood is infused with magic. We tried it in a few basic combination potions. The magic tied everything together and the blood didn't alter anything."

Hermione stared at Harry. "Do you think the killing curse altered his blood?"

Marcus slowly moved closer to Harry. "That may be part of it, but mostly it's a muggle born magic suppressing thing. We've tested a number of people, and muggleborns sometimes have magic currents in their blood while we have yet to find anyone from a magical family with any. We think it might come from the fact that if you grow up in a magical family you expect to be able to do magic and so you're more likely to do accidental magic. Harry's blood is the most magically concentrated we've found. Repressed magical ability turns inward and ends up in his blood." He shrugged.

Harry scooted to the edge of the table. "Look. None of this is important. Either it will work or the spell is a loss. So how do we figure out if it will work?"

Professor Snape tapped his fingers on the table. He stood and walked to the far cupboard across the room. He came back and handed Harry a glass vial and a knife. "I'll need a sample of your blood. It will take a day and a half to finish the tests."

Harry nodded and handed the vial to Marcus and yanked the blade across his palm. He tilted his hand and let it flow into the glass.

When it was half full Marcus pressed his palm against Harry's. He walked over and handed the vial to Processor Snape.

Professor Snape corked the vial and slipped it into a pocket of his robes. "Should anyone be concerned that you can do that without flinching?"

Harry caught the rag Marcus tossed him and wiped the blood off his hand. The pink line ran across his palm. "Years of getting thorns embedded in my skin had to be good for something." He smiled and shrugged. "Plus, I learned some very cool tricks." He licked the pink line and held the unmarked skin toward them. He giggled.

Chris moved and took his arm. He stretched the skin, but it stayed whole. "You always refuse to stick with what is possible. You are aware of the consequences of your actions, are you not?"

Harry yanked his arm back and scratched his palm. "No healing for two to three weeks after such a spell is cast and two to three months with decreased potency. I didn't do any spells before I had an alternate option. I didn't do anything overly dangerous or stupid so I wouldn't get hurt just in case I was still affected from the summer." He tilted his head and smiled. "I even stayed in my dorm after curfew. Well, most of the time anyway."

Professor Snape stood and rolled his eyes. "I suppose we must appreciate the small favors in life. I am going to leave this insanity and go start the tests." He stalked out of the room, the door slamming behind him.

"Severus is such an open and friendly man." Chris pressed against the table in front of Harry and leaned next to his ear. "I ever see you with a knife like that again and I will lock you in a room with Biara, understand me?"

Harry sighed. "Yes. Can we get on with figuring out this potion now?"

Chris messed up his hair and pushed away. "Let's do it guys."

Harry pulled Hermione out of the room. "Hermione, you have to go to class in the morning."

She pulled back toward the room. "So do they. Why do they get to stay? I want to work on the potion more."

Ron rolled his eyes and grabbed her other arm. Harry pulled her forward and up the stairs out of the dungeon. "They can sleep through class or reschedule. They're all in the same classes and there's no one else in most of their classes. They work through the breaks and over the summer. You on the other hand have to go to class with people who like to avoid work and do as little as possible. Now you will go back to the tower and go to sleep or I won't let you go back tomorrow."

"What is going on here?" Professor McGonagall stood at the bottom of the stairs with her arms crossed over her chest.

Harry kept his hand around Hermione's arm. "I have a note." He pulled the paper from Chris out of his pocket and handed it to her.

She glanced at it and sighed. "Mr. Potter, I had thought we made it clear--"

Harry pulled out a second paper and handed it over. Good thing I talked with Dumbledore about all this.

Professor McGonagall handed the papers back. "Then what problem are you having returning to the dorm?"

Hermione ducked her head. "Nothing. We should hurry. We've got classes tomorrow.

Professor McGonagall frowned and gestured toward the stairs. They scrambled toward the tower. Harry pressed his lips together to keep from laughing.

They stumbled into the common room and Harry fell to the floor laughing.

Hermione crossed her arms. "It's not funny."

Harry took a few deep breaths and stood. "It really was. One second you're refusing to leave and the next you're bolting up the stairs."

Hermione clenched her teeth and spun. "I'm going to bed. You aren't copying my notes if you fall asleep in class." She stamped up the stairs.

Harry shook his head as he covered a yawn. "How long do you think it will take her to realize tomorrow is Saturday?" He shrugged. "I'm off to bed. Are you coming?"

Ron nodded and headed up the stairs.

Harry jogged to catch him. "What's wrong?"  
Ron shrugged. They walked into the room.

Harry closed the door slowly.

Ron grabbed his pajamas and climbed into bed, pulling the curtains closed.

Harry frowned and grabbed his pajamas.

"Harry?" Neville squinted in the darkness.

"Yeah, it's me." He dropped his clothes onto his trunk.

"Is everything okay?"

Harry smiled. Trust Neville to worry about me. It's nice that someone is acting like I expect them to. "Yes. I'm fine. I wasn't even breaking curfew because I had a note allowing me to be out."

Neville smiled. "That's new for you."

Harry laughed. "Yeah. It is, isn't it? Good night."  
"Night Harry." He pulled his curtains shut.

Harry climbed into bed and squirmed under the covers. We've sorted out the steps of the potion, got all the ingredients, and started preparing everything. Once we get the results back from Professor Snape we can either start making the potion or trash everything. It will work. It has to work.

Harry walked into the Great Hall and filled his plate.

Hermione sat across from him picking at her plate silently.

Harry tapped his fork on his plate. "I'm sorry for laughing Hermione, really. It's just that you were so determined that you didn't even realize it was Friday."

Hermione frowned. "I know. I was acting like a foolish child. It's just--" She stabbed at her eggs.

"What?" Harry bit into his toast.

"You were a different person last night. I don't know if I've ever seen you so relaxed." She buttered her toast and took a bite. "It was strange. It made me feel like I don't know you anymore. I feel like I missed something important."

Harry reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "You do know me. You've helped me through classes and evil wizards. They just happened to be there to help me through having more freedom than ever before. It turns out I like choosing where to go, what to do, and when to eat." He smiled.

Hermione laughed. "All right but one day you're going to tell me what happened this summer. Now exercise your freedom and eat." She pulled her hand back and dug into her food.

Harry followed her lead. "We've got a few hours before wand less defense. What do you want to do?"

Hermione sighed. "I suppose working on the potion isn't an option, huh?"

Harry laughed. "No. I doubt they'll be up for a few more hours."

"Why are you up then? I thought you'd sleep in."

"I couldn't sleep. I've got all this extra energy. It always happens when I lose blood. In the hospital wing it always seems that if I lose blood she knocks me out, so I don't get the fun energy high. It's too bad really." He downed his pumpkin juice.

Hermione bit her lip. "That idea of magic in blood was strange. I mean, how do they know? What does the magic look like? I've had blood taken before, wouldn't it show up?"

Harry snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Hermione breathe. In order to see it you have to have a centrifuge and mix in the wrong chemicals. We had a little lab accident that was half accident and half boredom with my blood. That's the only reason we found it. It just kind of shimmers under a black light after it's been treated. It's not even that noticeable. Their ministry has an experimental lab with high tech equipment that gave us a way to measure it. The magical content of my blood was several times what the other muggleborns from similar backgrounds had. It doesn't coincide with magical strength. The only other hypothesis they had was that it was affected by how much your magic was suppressed by your surroundings as a child, but those of us in that situation don't usually like to share the extent of our crappy home life."

Hermione glanced around. The table was nearly empty this early in the morning.

Harry held up his hand. "I wouldn't tell them and I won't tell you. It's over and I'd like to leave it in the past." He shook off the hand she laid on his arm. "I'm fine. I promise. So what are we going to do this morning?"

Hermione sighed. "I have homework to do."

Harry groaned. "You always have homework to do. I do too for that matter. Damn. Okay. I'm in. Should we work in the common room or go to the library?"

Hermione smiled and jumped to her feet. "I think I like you being this willing to study. And we should be just fine in the common room until Ron wakes up and starts complaining that no one should work on a Saturday."

Harry shoved the last of the toast in his mouth and followed her toward the door.

The common room was empty. Harry and Hermione separated to grab their books and flopped into the chairs by the dark fire.

He pulled out his potion book and flipped to the right chapter. "There should be a spell that would do all our work for us."

"Then we wouldn't learn anything Harry."

He sighed. "Yeah, but it would be nice every once in a while not to have anything to do." He pulled parchment out of his bag and scratched out the introduction for his essay.

"Why are you two doing homework? It's Saturday." Ron dropped into the chair across from them.

Harry blinked and glanced at his watch. "Wow. We have to go if we're going to get to wand less defense on time."

Hermione glanced at the clock and packed her books. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Harry slung the bag over his shoulder and followed her out of the tower. They walked into the huge open room in the defense corridor.

Ichy was the only one in the room. "Welcome, welcome. How are you three doing this wonderful morning?"

Harry smiled. "I'm fine. Have you caught up on your sleep yet?"

Ichy snorted. "Yes. You should take that into consideration if you're thinking of repeating your dismal performance in her for one more week." He swept a sword off the table against the wall and slashed it through the air in front of him. "If I see you take one more punch you and I both know you can damn well block or duck you're out."

Hermione frowned. "Professor, he's getting better and--"

"Potter have you got your friends so in the dark that they don't think you can't even duck a punch? Even if--you have a cousin for goodness sakes. Even in regular families you would have learned to get out of the way."

Hermione's eyes widened but Ron snorted. "Or learned when your brothers are in too good of a mood for you to be safe."

Ichy laughed. "Oh that lesson. Yes I learned that one well. My teachers were my students though. After you've had your desk disappear a few times and been stuck to the ceiling you get suspicious of the smiles." He shook his head. "Seriously Potter, I want you working to your abilities."

Harry growled. "I'll hurt someone."

"No you won't. I wasn't any worse for wear after our little altercation."

Harry looked away as Hermione's jaw dropped. "No."

Ichy shrugged.

He's not fighting back or even arguing. That was way too easy. He dropped to the ground and rolled as the sword flew past his head. He jumped to his feet and bent double to the side to avoid the kick aimed at his face. He grabbed Ichy's fist and twisted. Off balance he swept Ichy's legs out from under him and dropped his arm as Harry started to overbalance. He fell back into his fighting stance and tossed the hair out of his eyes. His eyes widened as he ducked the punch from behind and spun.

Kevin lashed out again and Harry jumped to the side and kicked him in the stomach. Kevin doubled over and pulled air into his lungs. Harry slid on his knees past the gasping boy and rolled past the kick that grazed his cheek.

Kyle struck with another drop kick that caught him on the arm. Harry's elbow collapsed and his shoulder slammed into the ground. He flipped from his back onto his feet and threw his fist toward Kyle. Kyle blocked the punch easily and missed Harry's foot smashing into the side of his knee. His leg collapsed and Harry shoved him backward until he overbalanced and hit the floor. An elbow caught him in the middle of his back and he threw his arms out barely keeping his head from slamming against the stone floor. Harry groaned and tried to shake the spots out of his eyes.

Jason leaned next to him with a smile. "You have got to learn to watch your back, or at the least put up a perimeter charm." He held out his hand and pulled Harry to his feet.

Harry rubbed his neck and scowled. "I wasn't planning on getting attacked."

Jason snorted. "You weren't planning on getting attacked while learning how to attack and be attacked?"

Harry pushed him away. "I wasn't planning on getting attacked by anyone I couldn't flatten while baking."

"And therein lies the problem Mr. Potter." Ichy had the sword back in his hands.

Harry glanced around. Most of the class had shown up sometime during the fight. They looked shell shocked. Malfoy's mouth kept opening and closing. Crap. I was trying to hide this for a reason. I don't need another reason for people to look at me like I'm dangerous.

"And for goodness sake, aren't you going to do anything about the bleeding?"

Harry squinted at him and turned to glance at Kevin and Kyle. They looked fine. "They aren't bleeding sir."

Ichy rubbed his forehead. "They aren't bleeding. Correct Mr. Potter. I, however, was referring to you."

"Referring to me about what?" What was he on about? Maybe he hit his head when I knocked him to the floor.

"Look at your bloody arm Potter!"

Harry looked down. The robe of his sleeve was slashed open. The fabric around the tear was wet. He poked it and his finger came up red. He poked it a few more times harder.

"What are you doing?" Jason grabbed his wrist.

"It doesn't hurt. It doesn't hurt at all." Harry shook his arm. "Even knowing it's there. The delayed pain thing isn't kicking in."

Jason took a deep breath. "I think I'll take him to the hospital wing to get all patched up."

Ichy sighed and waved them out. "Go. Everyone else pair up as normal and start with the exercises from last week."

Jason put his arm around Harry's shoulders and led him out of the room. Kevin and Kyle stayed behind and Ichy seemed to be pointing them toward the mats against one wall.

"What were you doing there anyway?" Harry leaned against Jason as the walls shifted.

"Ichy wanted us to work on our falling."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to pull you out or anything. I can get there on my own." Harry shook his head. "Wait. Why are we going to the hospital wing? Madam Pomfrey can't heal me."

"I had to say something to get you out of the room that people would believe. We'll go up to the dorm. Our lounge is like a med station. Mom's not going to be too happy if she's around, but if she sees you all woozy she'll jump to the rescue and fix you up the muggle way and you'll be just fine."

"Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall froze in the doorway to the staff room.

"Hello Professor. Can you do something about the spinning? It's making my head hurt. The walls should be more courteous."

Jason cleared his throat. "Um, it's complicated. He's okay even though he isn't acting like it right now. I've got to get him back to the dorm to sort things out. I have to hurry sorry." He yanked Harry forward and dragged him up the stairs. "I'm really really sorry if this hurts but we have to get in the dorm before she recovers and follows to ask questions. I don't think you want to explain why no healing spells or potions will work on you."

"You mean the whole wand less magic thing? She knows."

"What?"

"I made a box of mice invisible."

Jason pulled him through the wall that marked the separate entrance into the lounge they'd eaten Chinese food in. "So when you said you didn't do any magic that would impair your healing ability until we were around to fix you up what you actually meant is that you did use wand less magic and figured out you wouldn't be able to heal normally only after the fact."

Harry frowned. "I was on all those pills and anyway I wasn't using my own magic. I was screwing with the ambient magic of the place so my body wasn't altered enough to reject healing potions."

Jason pushed him onto the couch and grabbed a first aid kit off the wall. "I don't even want to know right now. Take off your robe. God only knows how much blood it's absorbed by now."

Harry pulled it off and Jason tossed it on the table. The blood trickled down toward his elbow. "Why doesn't it hurt? And why do I feel so weird? I haven't lost enough blood from this little cut to be so out of it."

Jason ripped open a package and wiped at the blood. He pulled the edges of the cut together with butterfly bandages and wrapped it all in gauze. "I think that it's Cali." He sighed. "It's the only thing that makes sense. You can't get this kind of cut from a fist fight and I saw Ichy throw the sword at you. It missed you completely and clattered to the floor. There is no way that it accidentally grazed you and especially not to the extent that it would do this much damage."

Harry sniffed and pulled his knees to his chest. "They're torturing her, aren't they? The dizziness is from not eating. I ate this morning. They're starving her." He poked the gauze. "And now they've moved onto physical torture."

Jason wrapped his arms around Harry and dropped his chin onto Harry's head. "Cali acts like a spoiled child, and in truth she is, but she can get through this. If for no other reason, she's been in your head. She knows what you know, and if I'm reading the signs right, which you know that I hope that I'm not, she'll now how to deal without eating for some time."

"The potion will take a month and maybe even two to make. If it's gotten this far already we don't have the time."

Jason chewed on his lip. "We were talking the other night. We came up with something that might speed up the potion, but we didn't want to try it unless it was absolutely necessary."

Harry yanked himself away and paced in front of the couch. "Cali is in the hands of bloody Death Eater scum, you have a way to find her faster, and you don't think it's necessary? Harry took a deep breath, collapsed onto the couch, and wiggled back under his arm. "Okay. I'm done. What is it?"

Jason picked at his teeth. "Do you remember when we left that potion assignment until the last minute and needed to speed it up so we could finish it in one night instead of over three weeks?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, but didn't that potion blow up?"

"If you want to get all technical I suppose you could call it an explosion, but it was just a little mishap. We think we messed up the calculations of how much we needed for it to work and we didn't understand it all that well. Remara worked out its chemical formula in the lab and we thought that we knew what effect it would have. It works like a time turner in liquid form only it condenses time instead of allowing you to repeat it."

"Then let's do it. The timing calculations would have to be redone. Depending on the proportion by which it speeds things up. Wait, why did it blow up the potion you put it in?"  
Jason bit his lip. "We didn't have enough to cover the whole three weeks, but we thought we had enough to speed it up for two and a half weeks, and then we could say we had to start over again and hand it in a few days late. It turns out that it doesn't work like that. The whole potion has to run its course being sped up. The problem that is most prevalent here is that it's illegal. It's extremely illegal."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "So ignoring for the moment whatever this mysterious substance is, how did you get it last time?"

Jason laughed nervously. "We were working at the ministry lab. Someone grabbed the wrong vial when we were packing up. Aurors had confiscated it in a raid and brought it in to be analyzed. They didn't have any idea of what it was, so they thought the vial we mistook it for was the one they confiscated."

Harry took a deep breath. "Okay. So, what is it?"

Jason glanced around the room, pulled his wand out of his sleeve, and threw up four privacy and silencing spells. "It's centaur's blood."

Harry choked. "You're kidding me right."

Jason grimaced.

Harry dropped his head to his knees. "They'll probably get offended if I even ask."

"Ask?" Jason's eyes were so big they looked like they were going to fall out of his head. "Where do you think you're going to find a centaur to ask?"

He doesn't know. They're certainly aren't any running around New York. "There are centaurs living in the forbidden forest. They aren't exactly friendly though. Even less now than before. They'd attack if I dared to go into the woods. Firenze is teaching divination though. He might help if I told him what was going on." Harry snorted. "He also might tell me that Mars is bright tonight." Jason frowned and Harry shook his head. "I think it's a centaur thing. I'll find him tomorrow. That is if Uncle Sev can tell me if my blood will work to tie the potion together. If it won't then we can't make the potion anyway."

Jason smiled. "I wouldn't let him catch you calling him that. You do know that your blood will work, don't you? Even if it wouldn't normally work the bond between you and Cali might make it work anyway."

Harry laughed. "There's a reason I'm only calling him that within a well-warded room with someone who already knows the big secret. You think that even if his tests come back negative we should try the potion anyway? I guess that makes sense. It is our only idea at this point. I'd feel better if he thought it would work though." Harry curled up against the arm of the couch.

Jason leaned back and stretched his arms over his head. "You and me both."

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I love you!!! All of my reviewers!!! You guys are great and I really appreciate you taking the time to drop even a few words of encouragement. You're the reason I'm still plugging along at this.


	35. A little bit of bubbly

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

Ok guys, I've been waiting to type all this for weeks so here it is. The next chapter should be out soon since it's been sitting on my hard drive for months waiting for its part in the story. After that I might not update for awhile because I have obsessive classes this semester, so sorry in advance if you don't here from me for awhile. Hugs and kisses all.

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Harry lay across Jason's back as he leaned over the table. He pulled the vial from his pocket and held it in front of Jason's face. "We have acquisition." He jumped to the side and leaned against the table. "Whatcha doing?"

Jason snorted. "Well it looks mysteriously like I'm chopping, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I'm chopping."

Harry rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

Jason reached to take the vial. "I can't believe you got that."

Harry held it away. "I don't think so. You were mean to me, so now you get nothing."

Jason dropped to his knees and clutched Harry's hand. "Oh great and wonderful Harry Potter, forgive me for my horrible words against you. I throw myself before you and can only pray that you can forgive me. My love--"

"Harry?" Hermione, Ron, and Professor Snape stood in the doorway.

Harry yanked his hand back as Jason fell on his butt laughing.

Professor Snape swept into the room. "What an interesting shade of red Mr. Potter." He snatched the vial out of Harry's hand. "What is this?" He glanced around the table. Megara froze in the middle of chopping the wolfsbane and Jason's laughter died. Professor Snape's eyes narrowed. "What is this?"

Harry took a deep breath and walked over until he was standing inches away from him. "You can't tell Chris. He wouldn't condone this, and if he did he'd be in huge trouble. He's the minister. He can't be involved in this, but it's the only way we're going to find her while she's still alive."

Professor Snape tilted the vial in front of his face. "How illegal is this exactly?"

Harry coughed. "Less illegal since I convinced the donor to give it willingly so he's still alive."

"Mr. Potter enough."

Harry moved a few steps closer so his voice wouldn't carry. "It's centaur's blood."

Professor Snape's eyes widened. "You must be joking. Tell me that this is some elaborate joke you are playing on me."

Harry grimaced. "Sorry. It's from Firenze."

Professor Snape rubbed his forehead. "Do you know how to use it?"

"It speeds up potions."

"I will take that as a no then."

Harry pulled Jason to his feet and glanced back toward the door. Hermione and Ron hadn't moved.

Professor Snape whirled. "Go back to your dorm, the both of you."

Hermione spluttered. "What? We were going to help."

Professor Snape pulled out his wand. He cast a spell and Ron and Hermione stumbled back a few steps before the door slammed. He cast seven separate privacy charms. "Sit. All of you."

Everyone grabbed a stool and pulled it around the table.

"What happened yesterday?"

Harry tipped his head forward to hide his eyes behind his hair. "Nothing happened. Why?"

Professor Snape summoned a stool and sat. "I have no doubt that you are a group of the most insane people I will ever meet in my life, but from what I've seen you are not stupid. This is extreme. What happened?"

Jason nodded, and Harry slipped off his robe. The cut on his arm looked the same. Finger marks stood out as bruises on his arms. Harry poked at the bruises. "These showed up a few hours ago. They don't hurt and they aren't healing. We think that the backlash from the connection is actually transferring, or at least duplicating the injuries Cali's getting. Though if they were transferring to me I think that they'd hurt and I'd have a lot more as they tried to figure out why she wasn't bleeding."

Professor Snape turned his arm and peered at the cut. "You don't believe that there is enough time to allow the potion to progress normally." He dropped Harry's arm. "You are no doubt correct." He set the vial in the test tube rack. "I completed the test on your blood. I could not find any traces of magic, but you were correct in that it will tie the products together. I couldn't find anything that it would conflict with. Using centaur's blood will make this work, but it will cause the entire mixture to be quite unstable. It will have to be watched constantly. I don't know where this can be brewed that would not endanger anyone else. I cannot condone this unless you can devise a way to ensure the safety of the school."

He's not kidding I guess if this potion exploded it would do more damage than I'm imagining. What are we supposed to do? There isn't a place in the school where people wouldn't have a chance to interfere. Harry sighed. I think I'm going to regret this. "I may have a place."

----

Severus followed Harry down the corridors. This is ridiculous. There is no where in the school that you can escape interruptions. The headmaster, if no one else, manages to track you down in even the most remote parts of the dungeon.

Harry stopped in front of a girl's bathroom with an out of order sign of the door.

Jason snorted. "Harry?"  
Harry rolled his eyes. "I know it's a girl's bathroom. Just trust me." He glanced both ways and pushed the door open.

The others followed him. Severus sighed and walked in.

Harry was arguing with a ghost. "I'm sorry I haven't been to visit Myrtle. I've been busy."

"Not too busy for anyone else. I hate you. You can't share my toilet when you die anymore." She flew into one of the stalls with a splash.

Diana giggled. "I see you make friends everywhere Harry."

Harry scowled. "Haha. I'm oh so amused."

"Mr. Potter, perhaps you could explain why we are standing in the middle of a girl's bathroom?" Severus crossed his arms over his chest.

Harry hopped onto the edge of one of the sinks. He patted the marble. "This sink is the answer to our problem."

Jason patted his shoulder. "Maybe you should get more sleep."

Harry rolled his eyes "While that's true, it is not relevant here. This sink is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. The only people who can open it are me and Voldemort, so we should be safe from intrusion." He grimaced. "It may be a little rank though since the rotting basilisk corpse is probably still down there." He swung his legs. "So, what do you guys think?"

Severus stared at the sink. The Chamber of Secrets? The isolation will keep anyone from interrupting the brewing. However, if the basilisk could find a way out so could an explosion. "How far down is it?"

Harry looked back at the sink and shrugged. "The pipe goes a ways down and then there are a few tunnels that take you to the main chamber. I wasn't exactly concerned with the logistics the last time I was down there."

Even if it won't work, how many people can say they've been there? "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go down and see if it is suitable."

Harry grinned and jumped to the floor. He leaned closer to the faucet and hissed. The sink sank into the floor. He stepped forward and disappeared from sight.

-----

Harry stumbled into the dorm room. He stripped off his dirt encrusted clothes and left them of the floor He pulled on a pair of boxers. He reached toward his pajamas and let his arm drop back to his side. He flopped onto bed and dragged the cover over him.

"Harry?"

"Oh crap."

"What happened?"

"Someone get McGonagall."

Harry forced his eyes open. "What happened? What's going on?"

Everyone stood around his bed. Neville's face was white and Dean's mouth hung open.

Harry propped himself on his elbows. "Well? What's going on? Why do we need McGonagall?"

Seamus glanced at the others and took a step forward. "What happened to you mate?"

Harry frowned. What happened to me? What is he talking about? Oh--crud. His chest was covered in bruises and small cuts. "Ouch." He poked at the second cut across his arm. "That would hurt."

Ron growled and snatched a towel off the floor. "You're bleeding." He pressed the towel against the cut that stretched from his belly button to his side. "Harry, what happened? Why didn't you go to the hospital wing?"

Harry sighed. "I'm fine." He waved away Ron's choking and Neville's nervous, shaking laughter. "Madam Pomfrey can't help. None of these are real."

Ron pressed the towel harder. "It looks like real blood to me."

I wonder if it's my blood or her blood. I hope it's mine. Having her bleed out before we get to her won't help. Then again, they can give her potions to heal her if they don't want to kill her. But they don't know about the healing drains of wand less magic. Crap. I have to find out the last thing she cast.

"Harry?" Seamus waved his hand in front of Harry's face.

Harry shook his head. "Sorry. I'm getting the, um, psychic backlash of someone being tortured."

Dean stumbled back and Ron's arms jerked.

"Look, I've got to get to Jason. He can patch me up the muggle way. It doesn't hurt or anything, so it's not too bad."

Neville chewed on his lip. "I--I'll go get him."

Harry smiled. "Thanks Neville. What time is it?"

"Ten sixteen."

"He'll be in the charms classroom. They're in choir this morning I think."

Neville nodded and slipped out the door.

Ron shifted. "Seamus, grab me another towel?" Seamus tossed one to him and he switched them. Ron stared at the old towel. "Harry, you're losing a lot of blood. You have to go to the hospital wing."

I can't let them take me there. I can't tell Madam Pomfrey why she can't heal me. Harry dropped his head back. I am losing too much blood. Things are starting to get fuzzy.

Fingers trailed across his chest. Harry forced his eyes open.

Jason pushed the piece of tape down. "Welcome back to reality sleeping beauty. You were fading in and out for a few minutes there. You know it's not nice to panic your poor roommates."

Harry snorted. "I guess that's the problem with wounds you can't feel. You don't get woken up by the pain."

Jason pulled the towel off his stomach. "Ouch. That's going to be a problem." He rummaged through the first aid kit and pulled out a bottle. "Drink this."

Harry unscrewed the cap and gagged. "What is that?"

"The only potion we've been able to create that heals at least marginally. You have to ignore the smell and taste. Drink it."

Harry coked down the liquid and shuddered. "God. That was the vilest thing I've ever put into my body.

Jason snorted and wiped the blood off. "I don't doubt it, but it healed all the little cuts and it shrunk this one to the point where you won't bleed to death. I think it's a plus."

Harry laughed as Jason bandaged his stomach and then his arm.

Jason's hands squeezed as they moved own his arms. They pressed against his ribs. He pushed the blankets to the side and ran his hands down Harry's legs. "Your ankle is swollen. I'll wrap it, but you probably shouldn't walk too much."

Harry groaned. "How am I supposed to go to class? We don't know how to fix this."

Jason wrapped the ace bandage one last time and pinned the end. He ruffled Harry's hair. "No worries. We'll just have to work on how to break the link. Everything will work out. I'll make sure of it."

"What is going on in here?" Professor McGonagall stood gaping in the doorway.

Blood stained blankets on the bed, me in bandages, Ron has blood on his hands, they all look nervous, and Jason's in a room he's not supposed to be in. This is going to turn out well. Harry sighed and smiled. "Good Morning Professor McGonagall. How are you this morning?"

She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "What in the world is going on in here? What happened to you?"

Jason tossed Harry a pile of clothes.

Harry pulled them on and hopped out of bed, keeping most of his weight off his supposedly bad ankle. "I fell down some stairs. I'm fine, but Jason's overprotective." He grabbed his watch off the table and slipped it on. "I actually have to be somewhere." He yanked on his shoes.

Jason grabbed his arm and led him toward the door holding him up a bit.

Professor McGonagall looked him up and down and slowly stepped out of the way.

They hurried past and hopped down the stairs.

Jason led him to the girl's bathroom. "How are we going to get you down there with a twisted ankle?"

Harry shrugged. "I'll manage."

Jason grabbed his shoulder and conjured a rope that hung down the middle of the pipe. "Just grab on before you hit the bottom and shatter your ankle, okay?"

Harry winked. "Of course." He jumped. He grabbed the rope and his arms jerked. He used his arms to climb the last ten feet.

Jason dropped next to him and they moved through the passageway. When they finally made it to the main chamber Harry was leaning against Jason and limping.

Harry dropped to the ground by the cauldron with a groan. "I'm screwed. It doesn't hurt, but I can't put any weight on it. It won't hold me up."

Professor Snape raised his eyebrow.

Harry winced. "Things went further last night."

Professor Snape narrowed his eyes. "How much damage was done?"

Jason sat and tapped his fingers on the stone. "It's a good thing that she's been concentrating on potions to the exclusion of wand less magic. They shouldn't have much trouble healing her until she's at least stable and probably leaving her only mildly injured."

Professor Snape sprinkled blue powder on the boiling liquid and stirred seven and a half times. "And if she were unable to be healed?"

Jason rested his chin on his knees. "She would have been dead by nightfall. Heavily bleeding wound to the stomach. As it is we need to watch Harry to make sure he doesn't pass out from blood loss. I had to use the last of my stock of the healing potion.

Professor Snape nodded and added another scoop of powder.

With the centaur's blood used to full efficiency the potion would be done in a week instead of a month. It would require constant attention and addition of ingredients for four days and would need to simmer undisturbed for the next three.

"How do we break the link?"

Jason started and glanced at Harry.

"You said it was doing this because the connection was breaking down, but it's not getting any weaker. If this keeps up we're both going to be dead before the potion is finished."

Jason shook his head. "I don't know. I thought it would have been severed by now."

Harry watched the wolfsbane disintegrate as the potion shifted from indigo blue to the red of his bed curtains. "What about occlumency?"

"What about it?" Professor Snape wiped his fingers on the towel beside the cauldron after setting the timer.

"I used it to block my connection to Voldemort. Couldn't I use it to block my connection to Cali?"

Professor Snape frowned. "Have you been clearing you mind every night?"

"Yes. Except last night. I fell asleep as soon as I lay down. Um, I may have forgotten the night before too. I remember thinking about the potion." Oops. I know I meant to do something.

Professor Snape rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You apparently have been blocking the connection. If you actually clear you mind as you are supposed to you shouldn't be affected any further. I do not know if that will be sufficient to heal the damage already inflicted, but only an actual test will determine that."

Harry nodded. "Got it."

Professor Snape stood. "When the timer sounds it will be ready for the next segment. You section begins with the addition of mushroom spores?"

"Yep." Jason scooted in front of the cauldron.

"Very good then. Make sure all measurements are precise and the timing is perfect." He walked a few steps and glanced back over his shoulder. "And don't let Potter touch it. He manages to destroy the simplest potions." He continued walking.

Harry sputtered. "Excuse me? Who created this whole bloody potion?" Snape didn't even slow. "Maybe if I wasn't so bored in class I'd--I'd do my homework or something." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Grr."

"Arg." Jason smiled. "That may have been the most ineffectual argument I've ever heard, good indignation though." The timer buzzed and he shook the spores out of the plastic bag and stirred counter clockwise.

"Why don't you try meditating? Cali said something about nearly being able to sense the connection. You've spent more time than her working on sorting out your mind, so maybe you can find a way to shut it down, or at least push it back so you aren't affected by the psychic echoes."

"Is this you telling me to sit down, shut up, and let you make the potion?"

"Yes."

"Very well then." Harry crossed his legs, trying not to jar his ankle even though he couldn't feel it, and closed his eyes. Okay, so what I need to do is search my mind for something unusual. Professor Snape didn't see anything unusual it must be hidden in my memories of her. I was guarding those from him so he wouldn't have seen them. He yawned and looked deeper. Nothing looked out of place. No random strings screamed 'I'm a connection; suppress me.' Geez. It was the memory of the first night they'd fallen asleep watching movies. It was almost dripping with magic. That was the first time he'd believed that she wanted to help him without getting anything in return. How to shut it down? Maybe if I leech some of the magic the connection won't be able to sustain itself. He pulled at it, but it yanked back. He latched on and pulled as much as he could.

"Harry? Ow!"

Harry wrenched his eyes open. Jason shook his hand in the air. "What happened?"

"You shocked me!" Jason flexed his fingers a few times and dropped his arm to the side.

"I think I might have broken the connection. I got hit with the magic backlash." He took a deep breath and unwrapped his ankle. "It's healed!"

Diana smiled as she stirred the potion.

"Woah. Hello Diana." He turned to Jason. "How long was I sitting like that?"

An hour and a half. When I finished my section I thought I'd let you come out of it on your own, but you were taking too long and I started to worry that you were stuck or something."

Harry pulled the bandages off his arm. There wasn't even a line left where they'd been. He pulled the last bandage off his stomach and looked at the unbroken skin. "That was more successful than I'd hoped for. Thought I guess I can't get out of going to class now, huh?"

Diana snorted. "It wouldn't have worked unless you'd been knocked unconscious."

Harry shrugged. "You do have a point. Oh well. I'm going to lunch. See you guys later." He climbed out of the pipe and checked that the glamour was still in place before dashing to the Great Hall.

He slid into his seat at the Gryffindor table. Well at least I managed to avoid all those questions Jason would no doubt have.

He reached for a sandwich and flinched as a hand latched onto his wrist. "Ron? You scared me." He yanked his arm back.

"Oh? You mean like waking up to find your mate bleeding to death and then having him bolt before he tells you what the bloody hell is going on?"  
Harry sighed. I should have stayed in bed today with an imperturbable charm on my curtains. I just can't win. "Look Ron, I'm fine now. The connection is broken so I won't be bleeding all over anything anymore. Now can I eat? I'm starving."

Ron dropped onto the bench next to him. "I don't like this. What happened with Snape yesterday? Why did he kick us out? Besides the fact that he's a git, I mean. Hermione's still fuming."

Harry picked up a sandwich. I can't tell them what we're actually doing because Hermione would rant about breaking laws instead of just rules and violating the rights of centaurs and Ron would still want to help, but there's no way he can since the potion is more unstable than ever. I'm not even allowed to help. Maybe that's the way to go. "He found a way to speed up the brewing, but it made the whole thing really unstable so I'm not allowed to touch anything. He's taking shifts with the Advanced Potions class to make it."

Ron scowled. "Bastard. You come up with the whole thing and now he won't even let you near it."

Did I sound upset of affronted? "I don't really mind. I'd be miserably if it didn't work because of something I messed up. At least this way I'll know that it's being done right and has a good chance of working the wary it is meant to."

Ron shrugged. "I guess so."

Harry finished his sandwich.

Ron pushed his food around his plate with his head resting on his hand.

"Come on Ron, if you're not going to eat we might as well get some of our work done."

Ron dropped his fork and pushed away from the table. "I guess."

Harry nudged him forward and led him out of the Great Hall.

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Harry tapped his pen against his book. I shouldn't have broken the connection. I have no way of knowing if she's okay now. She could be dead and I wouldn't even know it. I just should have tried to suppress it. Why do I have to take everything as far as it will go?

"Harry." Hermione wrapped her fingers around his hand. "You are driving me insane. You've been tapping your pen for over ten minutes. I'm about three taps away from wringing your neck. The only thing worse would be if you had a clicky pen."

Ron frowned. "What's a clicky pen?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Wizards need to get out in the world. Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry dropped his pen. "Nothing. I'm fine. I just don't like waiting." That stupid potion needs to simmer, and simmer, and simmer until I've gone insane from the waiting. Why is there never anything to do? "I'm going to go for a walk. I'll be back later." He stood and walked out of the portrait hole. I just need to relax. Worrying is not going to make this potion brew any faster. He stumbled sideways as someone yanked him into an alcove.

Jason clicked his tongue. "Are you lost little grasshopper?"

Harry snorted. "No, and if I was I wouldn't take direction from strangers in the dark."

"That's probably a smart idea. What's up?"

"I'm wandering aimlessly. So if I can get back to it--" He walked back into the hall.

"Wandering isn't going to make you forget about the bubbling you know what in the you know where."

Harry sagged against the wall. "Well then what do you suggest?"

Jason smiled, took his arm, and pulled him down the hall and up a flight of stairs. They walked the wall into the empty lounge. "Sit. Stay. Relax." He pushed Harry onto the couch and hit a button on the CD player sitting on the floor. It was the drum CD. Drum songs of the Iroquois or something.

Harry curled up and closed his eyes. It was nice. The drums were calm and continuous and a flute or something accompanied it. He sat up and slid to the floor.

Jason swept a pack of cards off the shelf into his hand and sat on the other side of the table. "Do you want to play rummy?" He started shuffling the cards.

"You always beat me at rummy."

Jason smiled. "I know."

Harry laughed. "All right. Deal the cards."

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To all of my reviewers, I love you!!! You guys are great and I really appreciate you taking the time to drop even a few words of encouragement. I just have to read over the next chapter and make sure everything still works with where it's ended up in the story.


	36. Are you serious?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

This chapter took a little longer than expected because of my lack of free time when I wouldn't rather be sleeping. Here's an extra long chapter for you. I might not update for awhile because I have obsessive classes this semester, so sorry in advance if you don't here from me for awhile. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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The drum CD switched back to the first track for the fourth time. Jason hummed along to the flute part as it followed runs up and down the staff.

Harry tossed the ball in the air and held it there, making it spin slowly.

"Seriously Harry, how many do you think we could convince in two days?" Jason grabbed the ball out of the air.

"I would say that we could convince a majority of the school." The ball flew out of Jason's hand and hovered by the ceiling.

Jason rolled his eyes. "There is no way we could pull that off. People can't be that gullible."

"One, I know you're just doing this to distract me from the potion. Two, yes they are. Three, people will believe any scandal about me. And four, moving pictures are a little more convincing than ones that only capture one moment."

"Moving pictures?"

"You know how the portraits around the castle move? It's less than that because the portraits seem to have personality, but they still move. They're semi-interactive even. You can push the front people out of the way to see people whose faces are hidden."

"Hm." Jason dropped to his knees next to Harry's chest. "Are you in?"

Harry pushed himself up on his elbows. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." Jason smiled wider. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You want to convince the majority of the school that I'm gay in a convoluted attempt to distract me from Cali's continued imprisonment?"

"I still say it will be a definite minority."

Harry smirked. "Want to bet on it?"

Jason crossed his arms over his chest. "Hell yes I do. I say two hundred bucks."

"It's a deal." They shook hands. Harry sighed. "I will never live this down."

Jason laughed. "Probably not, but it will be one hell of a ride."

Harry shrugged. "How obvious of a picture do you want?"

He leaned back on his palms. "How much faith do you have in your classmates?"

"I told you. I have none."

Jason ruffled Harry's hair. "I'm going to prove you wrong Potter."

Harry sat up and leaned his shoulder against Jason's. "How do you plan on doing that?"

"We make it an obvious picture, but still little enough that it could be innocent enough." He bent his knees and leaned on them. "Who do you know with a camera we can borrow?"

Harry sighed. "Colin Creevy. But won't it be a little obvious if I ask for the camera and then the picture of us starts floating around? Plus, I don't know how to develop the film."

"Does he?"

"I would assume so. He's shown me pictures he's taken."

Jason shrugged. "So we get someone else to ask for the camera and then ask him to develop the film. Would he spread the picture around?"

Harry pulled his knees to his chest. "He might not out of some misguided loyalty to me."

"So who would spread it around?"

Harry laughed and stood. "Any Slytherin would do it in a heartbeat."

Jason pushed himself up. "Who would confiscate it?"

"Any professor would take it. McGonagall would take it and probably destroy it so no one could steal it back from her. I don't know what Severus would do with it. Last year he probably would have let them keep it, but now he might confiscate it."

"What if we bring them in?"

Harry groaned. "Are you insane?"

"Look. I tell McGonagall that I'm trying to cheer you up and prove to you something about the trustworthiness of the people around you--"

"And I tell Severus that he can mock me, and I'll bring him in on the bet."

Jason stood and pulled Harry with him. "You're really up for this?"

Harry grabbed Jason's jeans pockets and pulled him against him. "I never back down from a challenge. I'll get the camera." He let go and walked out, the door fading back into the wall. "Diana!" He caught her arm and pulled her around the corner. "I need a favor."

Diana pulled the door to the classroom shut. "Do I want to know what you're planning?" She handed the camera to him.

He slipped it into his bag and kissed her forehead. "I'll need the surprise when you go back with him and develop the film. What did he say about the camera?"

She explained how to work it and even how to set it on a timer. "He said there were four pictures left on it and we were, well I was, free to use them all. It was his way to welcome me to Hogwarts or something. I think it was pretty girl syndrome, but he is such a cute kid."

"Thanks sweets. I'll get you the camera back tonight." He left and ran up the stairs. He pressed his hand against the wall. "Haven." The stone shimmered and he stepped through.

"Get it?" Jason leaned against the bookcase next to the door.

Harry showed him the camera. "Of course I did. What now?"

"Well this is supposed to be her wanting to see moving pictures, so we take pictures of thing that move."

"There are four pictures left."

Jason smiled. "We have a top." He set the top spinning and Harry took the picture. "A yo-yo!" He grabbed the fluorescent blue yo-yo off the couch. "Sh! Yo-yo's sleeping." Harry took the picture. "And we use a cute little windup car for the last one." He pulled it back and it took off.

Harry pushed the shutter. "Now what?" Harry let the camera drop to his side.

Jason took his free hand and pulled him toward the stairs. "Now it's time to make you blush."

Harry followed but pulled against him. "You do remember that neither of us is gay, right?"

"Yeah, but you are one cute boy, whether we're gay or not."

They ran up the stairs and down the hallway. They slipped into his room. "At least everyone is at dinner." Jason let go of his hand and pulled his shirt off.

"What are we doing?"

Jason took the camera out of his hand and set it on the dresser. He pulled Harry forward. "Think you and Cali, only with boys."

Harry laughed. He sounded hysterical even to himself. "Who's the Cali?"

Jason laughed and pulled him closer. "You are." He smiled. "Relax. I have no desire to jump you Potter."

Harry forced his muscles to relax and pushed the robe off his shoulders.

Jason squirmed out of his jeans and tossed them on the floor with his shoes and socks.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm bloody doing this." He stripped down to his boxers.

Jason shifted the camera on the dresser. "It should look like it was taken from a hiding place. How do you set the timer?"

Harry walked over. "How long?"

"Three minutes." Jason flopped onto the bed.

Harry set the timer. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. "I don't think I can do this."

Jason leaned over and grabbed his waistband, yanking him onto the bed on top of him. "Are you sure? It's just fooling around Harry. Even if they do freak out, you know that it's not true."

Harry squirmed. "You're sure about this whole thing?"

"I'm still in if you are." He pushed himself back against the headboard.

Harry straddled his hips. "How bad do we make this look?"

Jason slid his hands up Harry's back and pulled him closer. "It's your choice. You'll have to live with these people for longer than I will."

Harry rested his arms over Jason's shoulders. "I'm going to be screwed."

"Not by me." He smiled and bit his lip.

He threw his head back laughing and dropped his forehead to Jason's. The flash went off. They both looked toward the camera. "I guess that's that." He hopped off the bed and pulled his clothes on.

Jason squeezed back into his jeans and pulled his shirt on.

Harry pulled his robe over his shoulders. "I'll get the camera back to Diana."

Jason smirked. "And then the fun begins."

Harry grinned and ran down the stairs. He dropped the camera in Diana's lap. "It is going be one hell of a ride sweet." He headed back to Gryffindor.

Potions was a silent affair. Everyone packed their bags and headed out. "I'll follow you in a minute. I have to ask him something." Hermione nodded and walked out. Harry headed to Professor Snape's desk. "Do you have a moment?"

He barely glanced up. "I suppose."

"I just thought I'd warn you before one of you students turned up with it."

"Turned up with what?" He set the quill on top of the papers on his desk.

Harry could feel his face heating up. This was a bad idea.

Professor Snape gestured to the chair next to the desk and Harry sunk into it. "What's going on Mr. Potter?"

"It's a picture. A--a compromising picture."

Professor Snape's lips thinned. "Who is it?"

Harry bit the inside of his lip to keep from laughing and took a deep breath. "Jason."

Professor Snape choked, grabbed the glass of water, and gulped it down.

Harry couldn't stop giggling.

Professor Snape slammed the empty glass down. "Explain Potter."

Harry coughed and stopped laughing. "Jason and I made a bet. I bet him that in two days a majority of the students would believe I was gay. He bet that they weren't stupid enough to believe that from a picture."

Professor Snape rubbed his forehead. "How much is the bet?"

"It's two hundred dollars."

Professor Snape leaned back in his chair. "And you are telling me this why exactly?"

"The picture needs to stay in circulation. Jason's giving McGonagall some spiel about cheering me up, but I'm not dumb enough to think you'd buy it even if you cared. So will you confiscate the picture or return it in an attempt to humiliate me?"

Professor Snape shook his head. "Do you seriously believe that your little fans will believe that?"

Why the hell not? "I'll bet you twenty galleons that they do."

"You want to make a bet with me on this? I know your fickle classmates. There is always a chance they will be idiotic enough to believe this foolishness."

"How about if a two-thirds majority believes it, with Ron and Hermione in the majority and Draco in the minority that believes that it's crap?"

Professor Snape raised his eyebrow. "That is intriguing. Will this interfere in the brewing of the potion?"

Harry shook his head. "I'd never let it. This is just Jason's way of getting my mind off of it. It won't work, but it's good of him to try."

Professor Snape inclined his head and held out his hand. "It is a bet."

Harry shook his hand. "May the best man win." He picked up his bag and walked out of the classroom.

--------

Diana slipped from a side hallway and walked next to him in the empty corridor by the Transfiguration classroom. "You are a bastard." She smacked him. "No warning? That was just low."

Harry smirked. "Where is it now?"

"I dropped it on the floor when I walked past a group of Slytherins. I really hope that was your meaning in all of this."

"It was, don't worry about it."

She pulled him toward the wall. "You need to learn to back down from a challenge."

Harry pulled away. "And everyone from the Academy needs to learn that Hogwarts isn't the Disneyland they think it is. They'd betray me in a second."

"Harry--"

"I bet a man I despised for the past five years that my friends would believe it when my supposed archenemy wouldn't. I'm in a mood. I'm not depressed and I'm not going to off myself, so you can stop treating me like a time bomb. Cali's alive and we're working to get her out of there. That's all I need to know."

Diana glanced around, chewing on her lip. "You know that I know that we're going to find her and she's going to be okay, but even so, you can't hinge your survival on one person."

Harry slung his arm over her shoulders and pulled her toward the stairs. "I'm not anymore. Of course I want to save Cali, but if it weren't possible, if she died, I wouldn't kill myself. I'd sure as hell run off and kill Voldemort, but I would kill myself. Though someone should tell the wizarding world that they can't depend on one person for survival. They haven't seemed to grasp that concept yet and I could use a break."

They separated at the entrance to the Great Hall. "Happy blushing Potter, you know where I am if you need someone to talk to or even just need someone to rant around." She dropped into her usual seat next to Meg.

Harry sat next to Hermione. She took a bite of her sandwich and looked up from her book. "What kept you?"

"It was nothing much. I just had a question about one of the ingredients from the potion today."

"You and Snape seem to be tolerating each other more. He has been acting strange lately though. I don't think he's yelled at anyone this week."

"It probably has something to do with the potion. He's concentrating on it and not on the stupid little mistakes people are making. I'm just going to enjoy it while it lasts."

Ron coughed.

"Hi Ron." Harry took a bite of his sandwich.

"What's up with the Slytherins today?"

Four people in the middle of the table were bent over something they were hiding under the table; they were the divide. One side looked confused and the other side was laughing and pointing toward him. Harry tried to keep calm. He couldn't look like he knew what was going on. "No idea." Harry forced himself to keep eating and responding to their questions. The bread stuck to the roof of his mouth and his water tasted as if it were laced with chlorine. This was starting to look like a bad idea.

------

Harry skipped breakfast and headed straight to Herbology. A group of Ravenclaws gaped at him from the stairwell. It was spreading faster than anticipated.

Harry rubbed his forehead again. The dirt on his fingers scratched against his damp skin. Half the class kept giggling or gaping at him.

"You ok Potter?" Draco dropped the trowel in the bucket. It clanged as it hit the other tools he'd put away.

"I'm fine." I know nothing, but that doesn't mean I'm blind. "Everyone keeps staring at me." Draco snorted. "Well more than usual I mean. It's starting to freak me out a little."

"Done anything extra heroic lately to make them worship you more?"

Harry scrubbed his trowel. The sponge slipped over the clean metal and struggled across the caked-on soil. "Shut up Draco."

"I'll look into it." Draco cleaned the soil from around the pot and dropped it back into the large bag on the floor.

"What?" Harry rinsed off the last of his tools and set them in the bucket.

"I'll see if I can figure out what's going on." Draco looked everywhere around the room but at him.

"Th--thanks Draco." Harry smiled. Maybe things weren't going to be so bad. I've got my Academy friends here, the potion only has to simmer for two more days, and Draco isn't anywhere near as foul as I always thought. Even if most people stop talking to me because of the picture I will still have people to talk to. Things are going to be just fine. They walked out of the greenhouse and headed toward the pitch.

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall stalked toward them. "My office. Now!"

Harry grimaced. I just had to go and jinx myself didn't I? "I'll see you later Draco."

"Good luck." Draco rested his hand on Harry's shoulder before heading off.

McGonagall slammed her office door behind them. "When I agreed to--I had no idea--Do you even--"

"Yes. I know. It was a bad idea. I knew THAT from the beginning. But there's a point to be made here and my American friends aren't the best at subtlety."

McGonagall sank into her chair. "What point are you trying to make exactly?"

Harry sat in the chair in front of her desk. The wood legs creaked as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "That they learned more about me in one summer than anyone here did in five years. That even my closest friends will believe something like that about me from a picture."

McGonagall rested her arms on the desk. "Do you truly believe that Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley will believe that? Without having any further proof?"

Harry leaned back and smiled. "I'd like to think that they wouldn't, but the problem is that they might think that they have more proof. Jason and I fool around a lot and if you're looking for proof it's easy to take things like that the wrong way. Plus, I bet Professor Snape twenty galleons that it would turn out that way."

McGonagall's mouth fell open. "He accepted the bet?"

"Yes. I bet him that a two-thirds majority believe it, including Ron and Hermione, with Draco in the minority that doesn't believe it."

"Why do you think Mr. Malfoy will not believe it? The picture is--well it's--" She blushed.

Perhaps I should have taken a look at the picture first. Oh well, it's too late now. "I know. I just don't think he'll buy it. It's just a hunch. It's not like I can't afford to lose the money." He smirked. "Do you want in on the bet?"

McGonagall straightened in her chair. "That would be simply inappropriate." She smiled. "An appropriate bet would be seven galleons."

"Of course Professor. I need to go finish my work. May the best ma--person win."

"Wait a moment Mr. Potter."

Damn. I knew that was too easy. "Yes?"

"A few days ago I found you in your dorm surrounded by quite a bit of blood. Jason has assured me that the problem has been solved, but he would not tell me what exactly the problem was in the first place. Would you care to enlighten me?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Do you remember the necklaces Cali and I had?" When she nodded he continued. "Well apparently they were so powerful that even after they were destroyed we were still connected to each other. Since I practiced occlumency to keep Voldemort out of my mind I didn't notice it, but when I forgot to clear my mind at night we connected and I got echoes of what the Death Eaters were doing to her. Jason suggested that I meditate and I broke the connection. So I won't be getting any more injuries I can't feel. Everything's wrapped up on that front."

McGonagall stared at him barely blinking.

"I wish I could stay, but I have Defense soon and I should really get my books from my dorm if I want to have time for lunch before class." At her small nod he walked to the door and shut it behind him "I can't believe I just did that." The picture had probably made it to Gryffindor by now. If I wait a few minutes everyone should be at lunch and I can grab my books. He pushed away from the smooth wooden door and headed for the library. All his work for the week was done. What was he meant to do? He moved to the back corner of the library behind the bookcases and dropped into a chair. I suppose I could do--

"Nothing." Draco sank into the chair across from him.

"What?" Harry pushed his bag to the side.

"No one will tell me anything. They all just laugh and tell me to wait until I see. No one will tell me what I'm waiting to see though." He growled. "I hate being out of the loop. It's going to bother me all day, especially with no classes to distract me."

"What do you mean no classes? What about Defense?"

Draco shrugged. "There's no class today. I heard him talking to Dumbledore after you went with McGonagall. He said something about checking wards at the school that was attacked. I just don't understand why they won't just tell me what's going on. They're my bloody housemates.

Harry grimaced. "Sorry. Thanks for trying though."

Draco shrugged. "What are friends for?" His eyes widened. "I mean--I--well--what I meant--"

Harry laughed. Draco Malfoy flustered. "Friends sounds like fun." Draco's mouth snapped shut and he looked around. Harry sighed. "I'm going to need them." Draco was still glancing around. "Stop being so paranoid Draco. No one is going to jump out and chop your head off for talking to me. At least that I know of."

Draco scowled and slumped in the chair. "So what did McGonagall want?"

"Oh, she just wanted to berate me for sneaking out at night." No! Don't make the whole thing harder for him to disbelieve.

Draco snorted. "Like you have _ever_ stayed where you were supposed to be? Where were you sneaking off to the time?"

Don't do it Harry. "To where they're housing our new schoolmates."

"The refugees?" Draco leaned forward and set his elbows on the table.

"If that's what you want to call them." Harry leaned back. The wooden chair dug into his back. He shifted and slouched.

"How do you know where they're staying? I thought it was hidden for their safety?"

"I know some of them." Harry played with his stud.

"How?" Draco scooted his chair closer to the table.

Bail out. Bail out. "We ran into each other this summer." He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I have to go. I'll talk to you later, okay?" He pushed in his chair and headed for the door.

"Okay." Draco sat back in the chair and pulled a book out of his bag.

I guess I can't avoid the common room forever. They should be at lunch by now, shouldn't they? Harry ran up the stairs and climbed through the portrait hole. The common room fell silent.

Colin ran up to him. "I am so sorry. I swear I didn't mean to--I mean--I didn't take it. I lent my camera to someone. She was just as surprised as I was. She seemed like a friend of yours. I never thought she'd show it to anyone. I--"

Poor kid is going to faint. He rested his hands on Colin's shoulders. "Colin you have to breathe. What's going on?"

"Your secret is out Potter." Jack Sloper pushed Colin out of the way. "We know you're a poof. Why don't you go and shack up with your boyfriend? You're certainly not welcome here."

Harry took deep breaths. Oh no. I didn't bother to see where English wizards stand on homosexuality. Stupid stupid stupid. "What are you talking about?"

Dean pushed off the couch and pushed Jack toward the wall. "There's a picture going around. The Slytherins have it. It--"

Jack shoved his way back toward Harry. "It shows you on top of some guy and doesn't leave much to the imagination. How many other guys are you shagging? How many of your roommates?"

Ron jumped out of his chair and shoved Jack against the wall. "Shut it Slope. I'm no bloody poof and if you say it again I will knock you out."

Harry spun and stumbled out of the portrait hole. He staggered down the stairs and around corridors. He didn't--It was all about Ron. He didn't even try to defend--Harry slipped into Professor Snape's office and curled into the corner. He hugged his bag to his chest.

----

Severus opened the door to his office and closed the door behind Draco. "What is the problem?"

"Everyone is hiding something. Not concealing it, but literally hiding it. I think it has to do with Potter. He mentioned in Herbology that everyone was staring at him. He was right, but they're also laughing and whispering."

"And why would you care?" Severus leaned back against his desk.

Draco's fingers twitched, but he hid all other signs of agitation. The boy did that too well. "I don't like not knowing what is going on."

"So this has nothing to do with Potter t--" Severus spun.

"Professor?" Draco stepped back.

"Someone is here." He pointed his wand toward the dark corner. "Finite incantatum."

"'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe. "Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!"

"Harry?" Draco moved toward him.

Harry pulled his knees closer to his chest.

"What are you doing in here Potter?"

He whimpered. "I--I almost--I couldn't--"

Severus dropped in front of him and grabbed his arms, pushing the sleeves up. His arms were unmarked.

"I didn't--I almost--They changed the password today. I didn't get it from anyone. I couldn't get in. Why did they change the password?"

"What happened Potter?" Severus stood and walked toward his desk. Draco's eyes were locked on Harry.

"I went back--I just wanted to go to my room. I didn't--they saw--the Slytherins showed them the picture. They all--Ron--I expected--but I didn't think--" He pulled in shaking breaths.

Draco moved forward. "What picture?"

Harry dropped his head to his knees.

"Where is the picture Potter?"

Harry tilted his head back and forth on his knees. His fingertips shimmered slightly. "Zambini has it."

"How sure are you?" Severus sat back on his heels.

Draco's gaze bounced between them.

Snape pushed Harry's head up. "Enough to get it?"

"Yes." The glow was gone.

"Do it." He stood and walked back to his desk.

Harry looked up. "Draco--"

"Forget everything. You were the one that was so damn sure about him not believing. Where's your faith now? Do it. Get the damn picture back. And if you fill this room up with student's pathetic pictures I will--"

Harry growled. "I know what the fuck I'm doing! You're the one that summoned three feet of Jell-O cubes into the kitchen trying a simple--"

"Potter!"

"Fine!" Harry held his arm straight and closed his eyes. The air shimmered and a paper appeared in his hands. He tossed it to the ground without opening his eyes.

"Are you sure this is it?"

"Yes I'm fucking sure." Harry collapsed back against the wall.

"Language Potter."

Draco picked up the fallen page. "Bloody hell!" The picture hit the floor again.

Severus stalked over and picked it up. How bad could it--his mouth fell open. He watched as Jason's arms slid up Harry's back, pulling him closer. Harry laughed and dropped his head forward. "You fool! What were you thinking?"

Harry pushed off the wall and grabbed the picture, finally looking at it. His mouth fell open. "This is what all--This is nothing!"

He couldn't speak. That was nothing? What had that boy been--I will not follow that train of thought. "Obviously it is something or you wouldn't have been curled up in the corner of my office mumbling nonsense."

Potter growled and moved forward. "First off, it wasn't nonsense. It was a poem from the Victorian Era. Two, it is not my fault that the Gryffindors are apparently a bunch of bloody pricks and homophobes. I knew they'd freak out because God knows they always do, but I didn't think they'd turn into a bunch of angry villagers with pitchforks. And what the fuck are you staring at anyway?" He crossed his arms over his chest. During his rant his entire body had become blurry and snapped back into focus as he finished. His hair now brushed his ears and was tipped in violent blue. His glasses were gone and his robes had reformed into black pants and a maroon shirt that read 'you can stare at it for eternity, but my scar isn't going to start singing show tunes.' Harry glanced down. "Oh." He laughed weakly. "Oops."

Draco backed slowly toward the door. "How--how--how did you--" He jumped back as Harry stepped forward.

Harry held up his hands and moved back. "Chris cast a spell on me. If I get too emotional this happens. It was basically a giant warning flag for everyone." He fingered a strand of hair. "I'm not quite sure how I managed to forget about it."

Severus fought against the urge to smack his head against a wall. "How do we undo this?"

Potter chewed on his thumbnail. "Chris has to cast the counter spell."

Severus threw floo powder into the fireplace and muttered his name.

Chris appeared in the room next to the desk. He saw Draco and grimaced. He turned and sighed. "Things not going well Harry?"

"I guess that depends on whether I can stay with you or not." Potter twisted his fingers in his shirt.

Chris raised his eyebrows and Severus handed him the picture. "Gryffindor see this?"

Harry snorted. "Everyone saw that."

Chris rubbed his forehead. "Bet?"

Harry snorted. "Yes."

"Did you win?"

Harry shrugged. "Two out of three so far I'd guess. At this point the third one is no doubt void."

Chris dropped the picture on the desk. "I'll key the doors to recognize you, but you can't run away. Find an explanation and make it sound believable. At this point no one will likely believe the truth."

"Thanks Da--" Harry cleared his throat. "Can you end the spell?"

Chris laid his hand on Harry's head and he flickered and reverted to normal. "All set. Be careful, okay? I don't want you hurt over this." He squeezed Harry's shoulder and walked out.

Draco kicked the wall. "What in the bloody hell is going on?"

Harry chewed on his lip. "I'm going to go find Jason. I think it's his turn on potion watch soon and he should know what's going on. I don't want him to get hurt because he doesn't know how they're reacting." He sighed. "Draco, if you're talking to me in a few hours will you meet me in the library before dinner?"

Draco clenched his teeth. "We'll see."

Harry sniffed, nodded, and headed toward the lounge.

-------------

Thanks so much to everyone that has reviewed. It gives me such a warm and fuzzy feeling. I know the end of this chapter isn't the best, but I just needed to finish this and be done. Happy reading all.


	37. Nothing ever works like it's supposed to

LOOK! I'm not dead after all. Thanks for being so patient guys; I know it's been forever. But I did manage an A in fiction workshop, which is incredible from this professor. I have been writing like two pages in every symbolic logic class, a joke if I've ever heard one, so I should post a lot more often then never. :) Thanks to everyone who's sticking with me. Happy reading.

-

Harry dragged his feet down the hall. How am I supposed to make this work? I have to find an explanation for this picture. Harry smacked his hand against his forehead. I'm just going to make a fool out of myself to a greater degree. He charged into the Academy common room. "I need to look like an American muggle."

Kevin pushed himself out of the chair. "I need some more direction than that."

Harry tossed his bag by the bookcase. "So I'll look different than an English muggle, but not enough to freak them out by itself."

Kevin nodded. "All right. Let's go."

Walking into the room behind Kevin he opened the closet and pushed through the hangers. "Do you have the shirts we were hiding from Mom?"

Kevin pushed the clothes to the left. "I should have three or four that Mom hasn't found yet." He pulled out a green one. "Try this one. It's pretty tame."

Harry pulled off his shirt and pulled it on. He twisted to see the back in the mirror. _At least you aren't looking at my butt this time_. Harry snorted. "That'll work. Do you have some jean that might fit?"

Kevin looked him up and down. "I don't know stick-boy, but we can shrink them if need be. I think I've got some that will match the shirt." He pushed clothes around his drawer. "Here, try these."

Harry changed into them and shrunk them a few sizes. "Are they okay? Do they make my butt look big?"

Kevin smacked him. "I ask one time and now I'll never live it down."

Harry threw his arm around him. "I'm ever so sorry for insulting he who loans me clothes."

Kevin shoved him off. "Now what exactly is the plan?"

Harry messed up his hair. "It's already a bet, so I'm going to act casual, stand up during dinner, ask how many people think I'm sleeping with Jason, and start collecting money. Acting like it's ridiculous that they managed to come to that conclusion. Since it's true at least I don't have to lie. I suck at lying when I don't have anything big to hide."

Kevin laughed. "I think I can bump up the believability. We have study hall in the Great Hall right before dinner starting about now. Go join them and do your work. And if you're done, get some off one of us. You still need to figure out the whole singing magic before you can ditch your class and join us and we're getting bored. Now go. I have work to do."

Harry left the dorm and took the back ways to the Great Hall. He plopped next to Jason. "Do you have the charms workbook?"

Jason pulled the yellow book out of his bag and tossed it over.

Harry's name appeared on the top and the pages cleared of the answers. "I love these books." He flipped to the first page and started reading.

Kevin wandered the length of the table whispering in ears before he dropped onto the bench across from Harry. "We're set."

Harry shook his head and filled in the next answer. "Hey, what do they mean by unity of consciousness? Is it thinking the same thing, being in the same frame of mind, or something I just completely missed?" The group seemed split into two camps on the issue and started debating. Harry smiled and started arguing the weak point of both sides.

Someone cleared their throat. Harry glanced up at Dumbledore standing at the head table. The Great Hall was filled. He smiled and shrugged.

They cleared their stuff off the table. Harry took a deep breath and stood. "All right." The room quieted. "How many people think that I'm sleeping with Jason? Hands up."

Hands shot up at the Slytherin table.

"Come on people. Have a backbone and tell the truth. Cough Gryffindor cough."

Hands slowly rose all over the room.

Jason choked on his gum.

Ron and Hermione's arms were up; Ron's straight; Hermione's bent and her lip caught between her teeth. Draco glanced around, his mouth hanging open.

Harry's breath caught in his throat. He'd expected a lot, yes, but this was ridiculous. Maybe three or four dozen people didn't have their hands up.

Kevin swore, yanked out his wallet, and tossed twenty dollars on the table. Everyone started pulling money out of bags and pockets.

Harry shook his head and pulled it into a pile, then walked up to the head table in front of McGonagall.

She pulled out a bag and dropped the coins into the bag he held out.

"Thank you." He walked to Professor Snape.

Professor Snape rolled his eyes and dropped a bag to the table. The coins clinked together in the silence of the room. "My expectations of their intelligence still seem to be too high."

Harry slid the bag off the table and walked back to Jason. "Pay up."

Jason slapped a wad of bills on his palm. "I can't believe-they'll really believe anything, won't they?"

Harry thumbed through the bills. "I did warn you. Remember that." He swept all the money into his bag. "I think I see shopping in my future."

Dumbledore stood and clapped his hands. "Well, now that Mr. Potter has apparently secured his financial future, let us eat." Food appeared.

Harry dropped the bag on the ground and smacked Jason on the back. "Maybe next time."

Diana smushed corn in her mashed potatoes. "We're having class tonight. Want to join us?"

Harry shook his head. "Ron and I are playing-um yeah. Sure. Class sounds good." He pushed the food around his plate.

Kevin took Harry's fork and shoved it in his mouth. "Eat." He dropped back into his seat. "I saw the picture too, so eat stick-boy."

Harry crossed his legs on the bench and started eating. "Will you guys go shopping for me?"

Diana flipped through her notebook. "Why?"

He swallowed and laughed. "They're more likely to let you leave then me, if permission were even an issue, and I don't see me getting out anytime soon, and I'd like to have some clothes of my own that I don't have to shrink."

Kyle waved his fork toward him. "Then you should eat more. Lots more. Bags of Oreos more."

Harry snorted. "I wouldn't fit into Dudley's clothes if I did nothing but eat for the rest of my life. This way I'll be sure to get my clothes and they won't ask why I need them."

Diana dropped her chin to her palm. "Large amounts of money and no one to shoot down my choices? I'm definitely down for it."

Harry winced. "Perhaps this wasn't the best idea." He leaned in. "I'll give you guys back your money when we get back to the dorm."

Kevin laughed. "Nope, it's all yours. I just took a few last minute bets." He smiled and twirled the fork. "Remember this in a few years when you're short on cash."

-

"You know you have to go back sometime." Jason brushed off his pants as Harry landed next to him.

Harry shrugged. "I see them in class."

"It's been two days of watching the potion simmer and eating in the lounge. Have you let them try to apologize?" Jason climbed into the main chamber. "You can't just hide out forever."

Harry sighed. "Dean apologized, not that he had to, since he tried to stand up for me in the tower." He sat next to Remara a few feet from the potion. "I expected them to believe it, and maybe even to not like it, but not even Hermione asked me before believing it. Though I don't know what's up with Draco. I don't think he's even looked at me since-I know I'm being petty, and maybe even mean, but I just don't want to go back yet."

Jason squeezed his shoulder. "You can't make things like this summer. It's not possible."

"I know." He pulled his knees to his chest. "Did Kevin and Kyle find the place where we have to cast the spell?"

Kevin ran into the room. "We found it. It's off grounds, but not far. We started sending the people we didn't need for transport there. We cast protection spells around it so we're not interrupted. Who else are we waiting for here?"

"Just Professor Snape." Harry stood.

Professor Snape stepped into the room. "Where are the others?"

Harry shuddered. "It's creepy when you do that." He brushed dirt off his butt. "They're waiting at the junction point. How do we get the potion out of here?"

He leaned over to check the potion and slid a cover over it. "It needs to be lifted out without agitating it too much. Does anyone have a stable levitation charm?"

Kevin and Jason lifted the cauldron. "We can do that. Can you two get to the top and grab it? We can go straight up, but probably not to the side without shaking it."

Professor Snape nodded and climbed the ladder he conjured to the bathroom and Harry followed him up.

Their voices echoed off the stone as the cauldron rose through the pipe.

Harry and Snape each took hold of a side and set it on the floor.

Jason climbed out of the hold last and Harry closed the opening. "Hopefully everyone should still be sleeping. If we're quick about it we probably won't run into anyone."

Professor Snape levitated it and walked at his usual quick pace while they ran to scout ahead. They reached the entrance hall when the door opened.

Biara shoved Diana in front of her. "In. All of you. You do not leave the grounds under any circumstances. I thought that was clear. Did you need more Chinese food?"

Professor Snape shifted the weight of the cauldron to them and moved forward. "Biara, we have to cast within an hour if we're going to get her out of there."

Kyle slid down the wall. "The nexus is gone. I don't know what happened; one minute we're standing there and everything's fine and the next the power is being leeched out of it."

Harry forced his clenched teeth apart. "Someone take this now."

Remara grasped the edge next to his hands.

He let go and his legs collapsed. His head throbbed and he pressed his hands to his forehead.

Professor Snape yanked his arms down and shook him. "Force him out. Do it!"

Harry took a deep breath and focused on the fingers digging into his wrists. The pain receded to the back of his head. "Voldemort leeched the energy out. He knows what we're dong. We have to move now or he'll kill her."

Kevin slammed his fist into the wall. "We don't have enough power to draw on. That was the whole point of the nexus."

Dumbledore helped Harry to his feet. "Then you'll need to raise the power, won't you?"

Harry stared into his eyes, barely twinkling now, laughed, and threw his arms around the purple, sparkly robes. He spun away and waved his hands to stop the arguing. "Guys, in this school we can pull off a power raising. We were missing sufficient ambient magic, remember?"

Diana hefted the bag on her shoulders and rifled through it. "I think I have everything we need. We need to cast somewhere with regular spell usage, which shouldn't be hard here, but we'll get the most power from long lasting spells."

"The Great Hall then." Dumbledore clasped his fingers. "No one should be at breakfast for an hour or so, but perhaps Professor Snape should refrain from joining in. I trust you can complete the spell without him?"

Jason nudged Remara and carried the cauldron steadily to the doors. "Yes, we can't use his energy in case it can be traced or recognized from the other side." Diana pulled the doors open for them and they stepped through. "We need an anchor."

Harry followed them in. "I'll do it; you guys are more used to working together. " He climbed onto the Academy table and sat in front of the cauldron as they settled it in the center and pulled the cover off.

Diana pulled out her sharpie. "Off with the shirt."

Harry pulled his shirt over his glasses and dropped it to the bench.

Diana hopped onto the table and started drawing on his back. "How many do we need?"

Jason took the chalk out of the bag and drew symbols along the floor. "As many as we can fit with symmetry." He drew the pentagram along the floor, onto the bench, and tossed it to Remara on the other side to keep going. He pulled another marker out of his pocket and started drawing on Harry's chest. "You need to remember the most important parts. Don't break the circle; the magic will lash out and start destroying things. Don't try and direct our magic unless absolutely necessary; there's too much for one person to direct unless they have exemplary control. Our job is to send the magic where it needs to be; you job is to keep us from losing our minds and magic to the abyss. No heroics, all right?"

Harry nodded and held his arms up so he wouldn't smear the marker. "I don't want to kill anyone today. No worries."

Jason nodded and pulled Diana away. They moved to the side, going through the bag, and whispering.

Professor Snape lifted his robes and stepped over the chalk line. "Are you sure you can do this Mr. Potter?"

Harry took a deep breath. The markers swirls were identical on each side keeping everything in balance. "I have to, and when I have to do something it usually turns out that I can. So let's just rest our faith in my unfailing luck." He winced. "Or maybe the fact that no one in this room has much of a social life so they all know way too much. Don't worry. We'll get her back somehow."

Professor Snape nodded and walked across the room to stand next to Dumbledore. The doors were closed, muffled thumping coming from the other side suggesting that Biara hadn't been allowed in.

The girls took off their shirts and drew around their tank tops; one rune on each shoulder blade. The pile of clothes kept growing until everyone was marked.

Harry took a deep a breath as they stepped onto the circle, one person on each side of the points of the star.

Diana climbed onto the table and knelt on the other side of the cauldron. She took his hands and everyone else formed the circle, leaning in to form a secondary circle around the two of them. "Are you ready?"

The potion bubbled slowly, every few seconds a bubble popping. "I'm ready."

She nodded. "Close your eyes." She started chanting, the others joining in one by one.

Static shock hit the center of his back and he jumped.

Diana squeezed his hands tighter.

The voices got louder. At each increase his hair shifted across his forehead. Goosebumps rose over his arms. The wind picked up and circled him. The goosebumps traveled down to his legs. _Open your eyes_. He forced his eyes open. Every other person had lifted their linked hands, casting the spell to summon her while the other half continued increasing the power. All the hair on his arms stood straight. Blue light flickered along the chalk lines. The potion slowly oozed over the edges of the cauldron and flowed along the chalk. The ground flickered as the portal struggled open. His arms shook as the energy pulsed through him. He breathed deeply and his limbs slowly settled, the magic flowing calmly through the circle, increasing each time around. A form flickered in from of him. Cali. The energy from the right side of the circle fluctuated. Jessica clutched those next to her, and forced her knees to lock, her head falling to her chest. We're going to fail. The form that had been coalescing started fading. The portal was being fought from the other side. Jessica collapsed to her knees taking the circle with her, but they stayed on the lines and connected. No. We can't fail now. He forced the energy out of himself faster, through the circle, and pulled it back into him increased by the energy each member was still pulling from the circle. Down. The energy shot down his legs and into the pentagram. The potion flared red and the floor washed black.

Diana slid her hands up his arms and grasped his shoulder, her fingernails breaking the skin.

He reached in, took Cali's shoulders, and pulled. Her weight fell on him and he slammed the portal closed as his scar felt like it was being ripped open.

Diana fell back, catching herself on her hands.

Dumbledore cast scourgify and everything but the scorched pentagram disappeared.

The circle had collapsed and no one was moving.

Professor Snape pulled the doors open and pulled Biara and Chris inside. McGonagall peered through before turning back and forcing the crowd of people from the doors. The doors swung shut on her ordering everyone back to their common rooms.

Chris hesitated next to him before pulling Cali out of his arms. Professor Snape helped him carry her to the next table and lay her down.

Biara pulled a shirt out of the pile and pressed it to Harry's forehead. Her lips kept moving.

He narrowed his eyes and tried to push the pain away. It faded from his head only to reappear over the rest of his body. Why was everyone shaking him? Everything just needs to be still for a little while. Wait, I thought it was the morning. Why is it getting dark?

"Burns covering his legs…don't know how much…Morganna-"

Harry sat up. "Cali!"

Madam Pomfrey burst through the curtains. "Mr. Potter lay down this instant." She pulled out her wand and started casting diagnostic charms.

Harry fell back as jabbing pains shot through his legs. "Where's Cali? Is she okay? Is everyone else all right?"

Chris pushed past the curtain and brushed the hair off Harry's forehead. "Hey, calm down. Everyone will be fine. It will take a while for a few of them to get their energy back, but they'll get back to their old selves. Diana's the most drained from being in the center of the cirlce, but she's always recovered quickly from power drain. Cali is-recovering. She isn't conscious yet, but most of her injuries are healing well. Don't worry about anything. Just concentrate on healing yourself. You've given everyone quite the scare."

Harry rubbed his scar. "What do you mean?"

Chris glanced at Madam Pomfrey who nodded and slipped away. "You've been unconscious for three days Harry. Whatever you did burned your legs, which aren't healing quickly despite all the burn creams your nurse has been trying, and no one could find any injuries that would be keeping you unconscious. They were afraid it had something to do with your scar. It started bleeding while you were opening the portal, which I'm supposed to yell at you about by the way. Jason is not happy with you while at the same time panicking over your well-being."

Harry pulled up the cover. He was only wearing boxers and a pajama top. His legs looked sunburned. "How long do I have to stay in here?"

Chris snorted. "You woke up five minutes ago. I doubt you'll be leaving for quite awhile." He stood and paced the length of the bed. "I don't want you to push yourself, but do you remember what happened? None of the circle remembers and all Diana can remember is that the circle was failing."

Harry dropped the cover and shifted, and stilled when his leg started to throb. "There was too much power coming in to ground, so it was rebounding on the circle. Jessica collapsed and took the circle with her, but they managed to stay connected so the power was still coming in. Voldemort was trying to block us from the other side, I have no idea how, and I just took the power, forced it open, took Cali, and shut it. You're sure Cali's going to be okay?"

Chris sat next to his hip and squeezed his arm. "Think about yourself for once. Your friends have been waiting to see you during all their free time and I'm sure they'll find a way to sneak in once they hear you're awake. I'll bring the circle down when they have the energy to make the trip. They aren't doing much beyond watching movies and sleeping. And before you ask again Cali will be fine. I forbid you to worry."

Harry closed his mouth and shrugged. "Fine, but don't expect it to work." He picked at the blanket. "Is there any way you can keep my 'friends' out?"

Chris tilted his chin up. "You think I don't know you were avoiding them, but I'm not as oblivious as you all like to think that I am my little friend of a centaur." He smiled as Harry jumped. "You will listen to what they say at the least, understand? It's not like they're going to attack you when you're in the clutches of Madam Pomfrey. Hitler would have been scared of that woman. And I'm watching for the mood of the school so we can fix everything and if I need to I will obliviate every person here. So don't worry about anything. So pretend you have to obey me for once and get some rest before I'm chased out of here too."

Harry punched the pillow a few times and curled his arm around it. "Okay, but remind me to whine about it later." He yawned and laid down, wincing as his leg scraped against the sheet.

-

Thanks to all my reviewers. I look at the number of reviews and almost faint. HUGS. You are the best people in the world and I'm eternally grateful for your encouragement that doesn't ever let me get to discouraged if a plot line isn't working-I rewrote the beginning of this chapter three times because it just wasn't working well.


	38. Does she have my pudding?

All right, so this chapter took forever to post I know. I suck at my life. I was going to add on more but I need to figure out what day it is before I can write anymore and I kept putting it off, so I thought I'd post what I have now while I'm avoiding two papers, a presentation, studying for a test, and a debate on whether Disney is evil. Hope you enjoy it and I'll push my butt off this chair to finish the calendar so I can write during my boring classes again and stay awake. :) Happy reading.

* * *

Hermione twirled her hair around her finger while mumbling to herself in the chair next to his bed. "Hermione?" 

She jumped and dropped her hand to her lap. "I am so sorry. I thought that I had put all the pieces together, but I didn't and I'm sorry. I didn't want to ask you if I could prove for myself that it wasn't true, and then you were gone and I didn't know what to do and then you asked and I had to say and I didn't want to lie, but I couldn't believe that so many people believed, and the Gryffindors were horrible and I didn't take into account wizarding views on homosexuality and even though I said I believed it that doesn't mean that I'm against it and even though it was a bet, if you ever decided that that lifestyle is for you I would totally support you."

Harry clapped his hand over her mouth. "Hermione, do you ever breathe?" He dropped his hand.

She smiled and bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I wasn't sure you'd listen and I didn't want to get thrown out before I could apologize."

Harry sighed. "I know that I've been inaccessible lately. It was on purpose. I wasn't ready yet."

She threw her arms around him. "I am sorry and I know you're different then you were last year, but I don't want to lose you."

"Get off." Hermione jumped back and Harry pressed his palms against his leg where her elbows dug into him. He took a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bemy legs are burned."

She covered her mouth. "Sorry!"

He waved his arm at her. "It's okay. You didn't know." He shook his head. "It's not healing very quickly." He took the cream off the side table and rubbed it in.

Hermione winced. "What happened? I went down for breakfast and there was a huge crowd being held back and then they were all sent back to the common rooms and then I heard that you were in the hospital wing."

Harry pulled the cover back up and smiled. "We got Cali back."

She jumped up, pulled herself back, and patted his shoulder lightly. "That's great! Is she okay?"

"She's still unconscious." He took his glasses off the side table. "Whoa. Wait. I'm not wearing my glasses."

"I figured they used a spell or a potion or something. They didn't?"

Her face wavered into basic colors. "And it's blurry again." He slipped his glasses on and her face came back into focus.

"What happened?"

"I don't" Harry turned his head to the left. "Pull the curtain back."

"Harry"

"Please." The curtain shifted slightly toward him.

Hermione pulled it to the side. She glanced out and pulled the next curtain to the side.

Cali cracked her eyes open. "I thought you'd never notice you could see."

Harry leaned closer to the edge of his bed. "You don't look or sound too good. How do you feel?"

She closed her eyes and relaxed against the pillow. "Probably about how I look and sound." She shifted and winced before settling back down. "Don't worry. I'll be fine before you know it. How about you?"

Harry laid back. "I'm fine. So is everyone else by the way. Just a little magical exhaustion."

Her eyes drifted shut. "Hm."

Harry smiled. "You can close the curtain now."

Hermione pushed it closed and moved back to the chair. "Do you forgive me? I mean, will you at least think about it?"

"Yes." He pulled the cover up higher. "I mean I do forgive you. But I don't think I needed to know the scary ways in which your mind works."

Hermione brushed the hair off his forehead. "You work on getting better and I'll work on Ron."

"Hm."

* * *

The insects were buzzing around his head. Harry groaned and flipped onto his stomach. "Ow." 

"That wasn't the brightest thing you've ever done Jaime." Kyle crouched next to the bed. "How are you doing?" He pushed Harry's hair back.

"Why does everyone keep touching my hair?" He pushed the hand away. "I'm fine. The burns are going away. How are you guys?"

Jason pushed Kyle aside. "What, exactly, did I say about no heroics that was promptly followed by your heroics?"

Harry shrugged. "That was so not my fault. It was failing and I panicked. It was a stress reaction. You're not allowed to blame me for a stress reaction, Mom said so when I pushed you off the diving board after I stayed up all night after that vision."

Diana perched on the edge of the other side of the bed. "Are you feeling better?"

Harry patted her hand. "I wasn't lying the first time. Madam Pomfrey says I'll be out of here in a few days."

Jason flipped through a stack of notes on the table. "Looks like someone's brought your homework."

Harry turned back over slowly. "Hermione. Her notes are equivalent to the lecture."

Jason clapped his hands. "You've made up! Does that mean you won't be coming back to the dorm once you're out?"

Harry slouched. "Hermione hasn't mentioned Ron since she first apologized. I don't think she's having much luck convincing him to apologize."

Chris pulled Jason to his feet. "I think we're losing energy, so I'm taking them back before we're stranded in the halls. We'll come back soon, so don't start complaining." He shooed them out as they called farewells to Harry.

Diana kissed his forehead and followed them.

"Chris?"

He jogged back and knelt. "Do you need something?"

"Aren't you going to talk to Cali?"

Chris dropped his eyes to the floor. "She's still unconscious Harry."

Harry scratched at his scar. "No she's not. She's not awake a lot, but yesterday she said she wanted pudding."

Chris started and ran to her bed, shoving the curtain out of the way. "Morganna? Are you there?"

She cracked her eyes open. "Do you have my pudding?"

Chris dropped, his knees banging into the floor, and clasped her hands between his. "Madam Pomfrey!"

Cali shifted and yawned. "Does she have my pudding?"

Madam Pomfrey ran in drying her hands on her apron. "What is it?"

"She's awake!"

She pulled out her wand and cast diagnostic spells. "The damage around her spinal cord is gone. I don't understand. The potions weren't working."

"Can I have pudding now?"

"Calcium!" Harry shrugged as they glanced over at him. "Pudding has calcium. Maybe what's she's missing to heal is calcium?" Neither adult moved. "Or chocolate?"

They tuned back to her, whispering to each other.

Professor Snape walked in. "Here Potter. This may heal the remaining burns faster."

Harry drank the potion. "Can you give Cali some calcium?"

Professor Snape looked over to where Madam Pomfrey was casting more spells. "Why?"

Harry bit his lip and picked at the blanket. "She wants pudding."

He rolled his eyes. As Madam Pomfrey scanned her for a third time, he tapped his fingers on his crossed arms. "This is one of those times that I must accept that the world works in your favor, isn't it?"

Harry shrugged. "I think so, but if not it won't hurt, right?"

Professor Snape sighed. "Fine." He walked to the cabinet and pulled out a vial. When Madam Pomfrey and Chris moved across the room he tilted her head back and poured the vial in her mouth.

She swallowed and stuck out her tongue. "Pudding would have tasted better." She settled down and fell asleep.

"What are you doing?" Madam Pomfrey cast the diagnostic spell again. "I don'tShe's healing."

Harry settled further into the pillow. "Told you so."

* * *

"I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?"

Hermione shoved Ron into the chair next to the bed. "I do not care about wizarding culture. Are you telling me that if Harry were gay that you wouldn't be his friend anymore? Just because of that?"

Ron crossed his arms over his chest. "He should have told me."

Hermione smacked his arm. "It was a bet! It wasn't real! Why would he tell you something that wasn't true?"

Ron sighed and rubbed his forehead. "He could have told me about the bet."

Harry sat up. "I bet Snape that you'd believe it and Draco wouldn't. I couldn't tell you."

Ron jumped up. "Why did you think I'd believe it and ferret-boy wouldn't?"

Harry slipped his glasses on and downed the potion next to them. "You did believe it and he didn't, so I'd hold back on the indignation."

Ron sat on the end of the bed. "II was a bloody prick with Sloper."

Harry waited but Ron just starred at his knees. He shrugged and held out his arm. "I'll take it. Friends?"

Ron took and hand. "Of course."

* * *

Severus kept to the shadows as he moved into the hospital wing. Harry was sharing his bed with his two friends and a deck of exploding snap cards.

Chris leaned against the doorframe beside him. "It seems they've finally made up."

Severus crossed his arms over his chest. "Apparently. How are your efforts to change cultural tradition going?"

Chris sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Not too bad. It may help that I'm a minister of magic and that's he's not actually gay. I've had the kids spreading rumors and acting like their normal selves so that when Harry gets out they'll have something else to talk about. How about your campaign to give detention to anyone that mentions it?"

Severus smirked. "Quite well. They've stopped mentioning it in my classes completely and the rest of the staff said it's not mentioned in their classes and only rarely in the halls."

Chris rubbed his hands together. "Wonderful. Things need to be good for him as soon as he leaves here."

Severus raised his eyebrows.

Chris shrugged. "They finished the repairs and rewarding of the school. Once I add on the personal wards and protections we'll be going back."

"Perhaps this time we will come to an arrangement that keeps him out of my supply closets."

Chris clicked his tongue and shrugged. "I'm sure it will all work out in the end. Things usually do for him."

Severus pushed past him and moved toward the corner. "And that's what's going to kill him one day." No one followed him as he walked back to the dungeons.

* * *

Harry kept his head turned toward the smoking pile of cards as Professor Snape stalked out of the door. "I think Madam Pomfrey is going to let me go tomorrow."

Hermione dropped her last card on the pile. "Are you coming back to Gryffindor?"

Harry laughed as the pile exploded in Ron's face. "Yeah, I think that I will."

Ron wiped the ashes off his face. "Good. I'm tired of beating Seamus at chess."

Harry leaned back against the pillows. "Is beating me so much better?"

Ron picked up his cards and slid off the bed. "Yes. Now get some sleep or Pomfrey will never let you out."

"Hm." Harry curled into a ball.

Hermione ruffled his hair and pulled the cover over him. "Sleep well Harry."

* * *

"What exactly do you think you're doing, Mr. Potter?" Professor Snape had his arms crossed over his chest.

"I think I was sleeping." He shifted and an arm fell down to his elbow. He froze. That would be three arms.

Cali shifted closer and laid her head on his shoulder.

Harry laughed shortly. "Would you believe me if I said I didn't know how I got here?"

Professor Snape leaned next to his ear. "Not likely Mr. Potter. She is barely conscious; please remove yourself from her bed."

Harry smiled. "Yes sir." He lifted her head to set it on the pillow and was pulled closer.

Cali wrapped her arms around him. "_My_ teddy"

Harry held his arms away from her. "Um, I don't think I got over her by myself."

Professor Snape leaned next to her ear. "I know that you are awake and highly amused. Release him now."

Cali shook slightly and finally burst out laughing before gasping and pressing her hand to her ribs. "Ow. Ok, I know, I deserve it." He took a few slow breaths. "Can't you leave him here? I'm sucking out his energy."

Harry snorted. "I thought I felt tired."

Professor Snape wrapped his fingers around his left arm, his head falling forward, eyes squeezed shut. "Remain here. Do not leave each other alone." His robes twisted around his legs as he hurried to the door.

Cali ran her fingers up and down Harry's arm. "He's going to be in here with us soon, isn't he?"

"Yes." Harry summoned his book. "Will you let me study wile you treat me as a battery?" He slipped out of her arms and sat against the headboard.

Her head rested on his leg. "The burns are gone, right?"

He pushed her hair behind her ear. "Yes. I think they're keeping me in here until things settle down." He pulled the cover up as Cali felt around for it.

"What needs to settle?"

Harry flipped to his next transfiguration chapter. "I convinced the majority of the school that I was gay and sleeping with Jason."

"You aren't?" She caught his arms as he swatted at her. "Okay, okay, we're all brothers. I've got it. It's just hard for me to understand sometimes."

"I know. It's because you have your parents and Lila. We, well they mostly, have that now, but we were on our own for most of our lives. You kind of latch on to those that you can get what you want from. With the Weasley's it almost goes beyond the people; I like the atmosphere. It's nice to know that there are happy families out there."

Cali took his book and scanned the chapter. "I'm apparently sucking out your reservations. You're becoming philosophical."

He tossed the book on the floor. "Screw this. I'm exhausted. Let's sleep for a little while."

* * *

"Potter?"

Harry rolled over and caught himself from falling out of the bed. Black boots all the way up to blonde hair. He climbed out of the bed and walked past Draco to his bed and pulled on his dressing gown. "Hi Draco. What's going on?"

Draco sat on his bed. "Fickle, aren't you? Do you jump into bed with anyone?" He stood back up and paced the length of the bed. "I didn't believe it, and then I hear two of them talking about you switching whose bed you slept in every night." He yanked his wand out of sleeve and pointed it at Harry. "Who the hell are you and where is Potter? The one who got nervous when people were talking about him?" He scowled. "But then you knew exactly what was going on, didn't you? Was it fun for you Potter? To make me look like an idiot?"

Harry grasped Draco's shoulder and pushed him to the bed. "I didn't want to make you feel stupid. I didn't expect you to offer to find out what was going on. Excuse me for being a little shell-shocked. I don't know how these things are supposed to work with you. We just stopped hating each other for God's sake." A pillow bounced off his head.

Cali leaned on her elbow. "Stop fighting and give me my pillow back."

"You shouldn't have thrown it then."

Cali reached out her arm to summon it back.

Harry bolted over and slipped the pillow under her head. "No magic! You're burned out enough as it is just trying to stay alive."

She smiled and cuddled around the pillow. "Well then hop back in and bring your friend and I'll take a little something from the experience." She flicked her thumb nail between her teeth.

"Poppy! We need help now!"

Harry took Draco's arm and pulled him into the curtain. "If you make a sound they'll kick you out."

Cali pulled Draco onto the bed next to her. "How does he look?"

Harry peeked through the gap, keeping still so the curtain wouldn't billow out. Professor Snape leaned on Dumbledore's shoulder. His right arm was pressed against his stomach and streaked with blood.

Madam Pomfrey ran out. "Put him on the bed." She dropped an armful of potion on the table and pulled the curtains closed.

Harry sat next to Draco. Cali's hair fell over her cheek as she twisted the blanket around her fingers. "He's not doing so good, but he hasn't done any debilitating magic since the summer so Madam Pomfrey can fix him up easily."

Cali fell back. "This sucks."

Harry threw off his dressing gown and burrowed back in the covers. "Most of life does suck." He poked Draco lightly in the side. "Are we friends again yet?"

Draco pushed himself to the end of the bed. "Will you answer my questions? I don't think I can decide until I know more."

Harry clasped Cali's hand. "I will."

Draco smoothed his robes over his lap. "All right then."

* * *

Harry pushed through the curtains and froze. "Hello Headmaster."

Dumbledore looked over his glasses. "I don't think Madam Pomfrey would allow you over here."

Harry smiled and settled next to him. "She just left for lunch. How is he?"

Dumbledore rubbed his forehead. "He will be fine by this evening. How are you doing now? Getting stronger?"

Harry nodded. "Yes sire. Cali too. They still won't let me out. Do you know when I'll be free?"  
Professor Snape shifted and coughed. "When I bloody well say you can go. Didn't I tell you not to go anywhere by yourself?"

Harry slid closer. "I can see her from here. She wanted to know how you're doing, and she wouldn't take 'bad' for an answer. "

Dumbledore helped Professor Snape swallow one of the potions on the side table. "Tell her that I am fine. I am healing. I've been worse."

Harry stood. "Yes sir. I've got homework to do. We wouldn't want me to be behind when I'm finally allowed to leave. Goodbye Headmaster."

Dumbledore nodded and patted his back.

Harry hopped back into bed next to Cali and slid toward the edge at a glare from Professor Snape. "He says he'll be fine, which you heard, so will you give me my book now?"

Cali handed him his Charms textbook. "Why don't you sing me to sleep then? You can practice."

Harry scrunched his nose. "Bite me Morganna."

She curled up and rested her head on his thigh. "Maybe later. Nap time now."


	39. Jumpy much

As one of my friends and some of you have asked, no, I'm not dead, just a little lazy. I managed about six pages of this today, and I really want to finish this soon. (I know I've been saying that for a long time, but it has to happen eventually.) I have an outline of where I want this story to end up, and no matter what, I WILL NOT abandon this story. If you want to IM me every day and tell me to write, feel free. :) Everyone needs a kick in the butt sometimes. I only revised this chapter once because I really wanted to get it posted, so feel free to send me any mistakes you find.

Thanks to my reviewers and others for poking me and demanding an update, in a polite way that is. It really did help me get this out today. I hope you all enjoy.

* * *

Harry scribbled the last line of his transfiguration assignment and shoved it back in his bag. He pulled his plate back in front of him and took the eggs out of Ron's hands. "Stop adding food to your plate and eat what you have. What's up with you today?" 

Ron jabbed his fork into his sausage. "Do you think that Hermione's still mad at me?"

Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice. "About the whole gay thing? I don't think so, why? Has she done something that makes you think so?"

Ron dropped his forehead onto his palm. "She completely brushed me off this morning when I asked for her help on my Transfiguration assignment. I thought she was going to hit me with her bag for a minute." He shoved the sausage into his mouth. "I apologized to you and all and I don't think it's fair if she's still mad at me because you forgave me." He emptied his cup. "What should I do?"

Harry smiled and scratched his neck. The group next to him was involved in a violent quittich discussion and on the other side some third years were comparing answers for the charms work. "Look Ron, you guys spent a week in the hospital wing spending time with me. That means a week of Hermione not spending every minute doing her work. Now that everything's settle I think she's panicking and jumping back into her work. I don't think she's mad at you at all, at least no more than usual."

Ron smiled and dug into his food. The room emptied slowly until there were only a few dozen people left.

The table shook as Hermione threw herself onto the bench, grabbed two pieces of toast, and put bacon between them. "What are you two still doing here? We're going to be late for class." She pulled Harry to his feet and Ron followed as she hurried out of the room.

Ron split off and headed to his class while Hermione tugged Harry down the stairs. She finally let go of his arm and turned the last corner to the classroom. Heels clicked over the stone floor behind him. Harry took a few steps toward the sound and a hand reached out of the alcove and pulled him in. He struggled against the arms, trying to get leverage to shove the person off, and quickly stopped when he head the giggling. He licked the hand covering his mouth and it pulled away with a squeal. "Is there a particular reason you kidnapped me and are making me late for Potions?"

Cali leaned against the wall next to him, her jasmine body spray clashing with whatever scented shampoo she'd used. Her hand ran up his arm. "I can't just drop in for a dose of my cutie?" She pulled her hand back when he tapped his fingers on his arm. "All right then. I guess not." She glanced out into the hall and pulled him further into the niche. "I need to talk to talk to you tonight. Things are being hidden. Mom's been acting strange ever since I got out of the hospital wing, but you know I tend to read more into things than actually exists, so I need to know if I'm just being paranoid or if there is actually something there that I should be worrying about. Will you come to the common room tonight?"

The footsteps passing through the corridor had stopped. "Yeah, of course I will, but I have to go now if I want to make it to class even close to on time." He kissed her forehead, slipped passed her, and ran around the corner.

Professor Snape stood at the door. "Well Mr. Potter, how wonderful for you to join us this morning."

Everyone in the class looked back, the Slytherins laughing and nudging each other. "I'm sorry sir." He slipped into the classroom and slid into his seat next to Hermione. When the instructions appeared on the board he gathered his ingredients and started brewing. He ignored Hermione's glances toward him, looking for answers to his disappearance, and concentrated on his cauldron. He jumped when Professor Snape's hand landed on his shoulder.

Black hair hid his face as he leaned closer. "Why were you late?"

The fire under his cauldron flickered and he steadied it. "I left breakfast a little late and then Cali ambushed me in the hall. She thinks something's wrong cause Mom is acting weird around her. She wanted another opinion. I got away as quickly as I could."

Professor Snape nodded and pushed his hand away from the cauldron. "Too much bat essence, Mr. Potter. Neutralize the reaction and try that step again."

Hiding his smile, Harry nodded and mixed in the ingredients to fix the miniscule mistake and move onto the next step. He cracked his back and leaned back over his cauldron. Cali is paranoid, but not usually totally wrong about what she's sensing. It could be just that Mom's worried that Cali's still sick, or about her students keeping up with their work here, or that the world is going to end in three weeks and there aren't enough space ships to get everyone off the planet. Well, probably not the last one, but any of the others maybe. When the bell rang he bottled his potion and walked up to the front of the room to put it on the desk. Purple. Damn. It was apparently not supposed to be purple. The edge of his robe hid his bottle while the others moved around him to turn in their potions. He waited until the room was empty except for a few people packing their bags and moved next to Professor Snape. He held up the bottle. "So I seemed to have made a mistake. It's not poison, is it?"

Professor Snape snatched the bottle out of his hand and held it up to the light. He let out a long breath. "You neutralized the reaction too far. It's useless, but also harmless. What exactly are you doing?"

He stopped dancing in a circle and skipped to his bag. Hermione's mouth hung open. "Thanks Professor." He patted Hermione's shoulder. "I screwed up the potion! Help me study it later?"

She nodded and handed him his bag. "Sure. Um, are you okay?"

He pulled her out the door and up toward the Transfiguration classroom. "Wonderful." He skidded to a stop. "You know, he took the bottle out of my hand rather quickly. Like he was worried about it or something." He started walking again as Hermione tugged on his robe. "Sometimes I really hate it when Cali's right." He waved his arm at Hermione as they reached the door. "I promise I'll tell you later if it does turn out to be something. I could just be paranoid. We could both just be paranoid. It's certainly happened before." He sat next to Ron and took a few deep breaths to calm down.

Professor McGonagall swept into the room with Biara next to her. "Today we're going to work with our guests. It seems that our two classes are having the opposite problems, so you can help each other. We're going to move down the hall to one of the larger classrooms." Everyone packed up and followed the women down the hall. "Split up and join one of the other students."

The students were spread around the room at pairs of desks with one student at each. Harry moved over and plopped next to Jason. "Where's everyone else? Skiving off and eating sugar?"

Jason twisted his pencil in his fingers. "I suck at Transfig. They're in a higher class with a different professor. Wanna explain it all and get me out of here and up to where I can transfigure chairs to attack people or something?"

Harry took the pencil and tossed it at his head. "Okay, sure. What do you need to know?"

"The problem the rest of the class is having doesn't really apply to me; I actually understood it for once, but I do have a very important question." Jason pulled a hedgehog out of his bag and set it on the table. "Now tell me. Why, in the name of all things chocolate, would I ever want to bother turning this into a pincushion? I can go to the dollar store and buy all the ones I want. They can be different shapes and colors and some can even be magnetic. I can't turn a hedgehog into a magnetic pincushion. As a hedgehog, it's pretty cute as it is and evolution made it what it is. Why should I screw with the cutie?" He petted its head.

With one incantation there was a pincushion on the desk. Harry poked it and shrugged. "I've always seen it this way, but I don't know if it's right. I think that there really is no point to it. Yes it's a pincushion, but it will turn back soon because it's not a permanent transformation. You can go and buy one at the store so it's not really that much more convenient, and it is kind of cruel to use a living creature like this. The only thing I could figure out is that you can't run before you crawl. The useful stuff, changing yourself to adapt to your environment in an emergency or changing your enemy into something to stop him, changes things too far away from what they are meant to be. The pincushion still looks much like the hedgehog so it's easier to get there. It's a change, but it's not that much of a stretch of the imagination. It's a little harder to accept that you can turn yourself into a fish, or part fish, to swim somewhere. You accept that this is something that you have to do to get to where you really want to be. It's the confidence you need to do transfiguration. You have to be sure that you want it to happen for the spell to work." He returned the hedgehog to its animate state.

Jason closed his eyes and cast the spell. "I made a pincushion!" He poked at it and it stayed still on solid on the desk.

Biara wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Congratulations Jason. May I just say, finally. Did you finally admit that it isn't all that cute?"

Jason turned it back and petted its head. "I love my little Herbie. Take that back."

With a squeeze to Harry's shoulder she moved off. "I don't know how you managed it, but thank you. I was losing hope on that transformation, especially after one of the hedgehog's mysteriously disappeared from my classroom after we did this lesson a few years ago." She knelt next to Harry's desk as Jason pulled Herbie closer to his side. "Are you doing all right? Everything going well?"

Harry nodded and patted her shoulder. "Everything's good. Don't worry about me. It's all pretty much back to normal now."

"How wonderful." She stood and moved on to the next pair.

Jason whistled. "Well, I guess I owe Kyle five bucks. I really thought I was right this time." They leaned over as Mom moved to the front to help another pair. "So Cali's not just being paranoid again? A lot has happened lately. I thought maybe she was just finally reacting to all that's gone on." He leaned closer. "Any ideas what's actually happening?"

"I think it's about me." Harry pulled out his wand. "Professor Snape was acting odd in class today too." He shrugged. "Now, since you actually got this assignment, how can I better turn you or myself into a mammal without getting lost in it?"

Jason pulled out his book and flipped to a marked page. "This is what always got me out of the consciousness of the animal. I never did the spell on someone else, I got kicked out of the lesson before that section for dying the desk blue, but Kevin says that it's sometimes a matter of just distancing yourself from the person you're going to cast on so that you don't get yourself caught in the wave of the spell."

Harry twisted his wand in his hand. "Well, here goes nothing then."

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Harry jumped onto the couch next to Cali. "So whatever I see, I already know you're right."

Green strings dropped to the floor. "Aren't you supposed to be doing something?" Cali hung her head back over the couch and picked them up, lacing them around her fingers and making the cat's cradle web.

The room was empty except for them, books and papers abandoned on the tables. Harry turned back to Cali's disappearing head. "Yeah, at lunch like everyone else. I won't bother asking why you aren't there. Severus and Biara are acting weird. You're right. Do we find out what's wrong now?"

Cali spun around and curled her feet under her, tossing the strings on the side table. "She told me this morning." She twisted her hair around her fingers, playing with the ends. Shifting again, she pushed against him with her toes and twisted the hem of his robes. "We're going back next week. Dad replaced the last of the personal wards two days ago. They've been testing them ever since. They're about three times stronger than the old ones. Everyone's healthy and I'm fine and she said that you're fine, so we're going back, thereby ending our fun little holiday." She draped her legs across his lap. "This sucks." She shrugged. "I know that I have to go eventually and I do miss home, but I don't want to go yet."

He wrapped his hands around hers. "I'll be all right. I did every stupid thing possible already, what's left? And you've got everything you've always had, so you'll be fine too." Her legs slid to the floor and he stood. "I've got to get to Charms. Do you still want me to come down tonight?"

Cali threw herself forward and hugged him. "Yes. I need to get my Harry time in somehow. We'll all hang out in our lounge, okay? Seven good?"

Harry kissed her forehead. "I'll see you then." He scooped his bag up and headed to class.

* * *

The Great Hall was filled with irritating students squealing about their pointless days. The Gryffindors were missing their main attraction. Granger and Weasley seemed unconcerned with Harry's nonattendance of the second meal that day. But then, they didn't figure out there was anything wrong when the boy nearly killed himself either. Children are idiots at this age. Perhaps I reacted too much to his potion this morning. I could have given him the idea that something was wrong. Morganna was already suspicious to begin with and when she asked him for his opinion she put him on alert. He would have been watching for any odd actions or conversations. Biara said she told Morganna that they would be leaving before lunch. If Harry went to her or she found him then he knows now. A group of Slytherins laughed, breaking the steady hum. The Gryffindors started muttering and whispering to each other. As if everything a Slytherin could find amusing would be offensive or mean to Gryffindors. Most of it maybe, but certainly not all. Harry entered the hall and slid in next to his friends. He seems to be smiling as much as every. Almost annoyingly cheerful. He hasn't talked to Morganna yet then. I will have to watch him over the next few days. Perhaps I should give him detention so I can talk to him about this. Six or seven crates of ingredients should be coming in this week. He could use something to do to distract him once they're gone. He'll have more free time once again. Not that anything has been normal for that boy since school's started. Severus stabbed his fork into another piece of potato. It squished between his teeth and he swallowed it. Disgustingly bland as always. He took the salt from Chris and covered his food in it. He took another bite and gagged. Too much salt. He pushed the plate back and slouched in his chair. Eating is so pointless. You lose the time to do anything else and yet you have to keep doing it every day. A plate of cake slid in front of him.

Biara patted his arm. "You know that you do have to eat something. You don't want to faint in the middle of one of your classes." With a large smile she turned back to her chicken and resumed a conversation about the pros and cons of temporary transfigurations with Minerva.

Severus took a bite of cake. She wouldn't be satisfied until it was gone either. He was a grown man for Merlin's sake. He could decide when he wanted to eat and when he didn't. But no, everyone tried to get him to eat and be nice to people. If he wanted to be an idiot like the rest of the world he could brew a potion to dissolve his brain. They should be grateful that he isn't since it's all that kept their little savior alive. He shoved the cake to the side and left the table, shoving Biara's hand aside when she tired to stop him. He quickly headed back to the dungeon. There is no point in looking at the unfairness of the world. You have to deal with how things exist. Footsteps echoed in the empty stone hall. He spun and crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for them to round the corner. "There is no running in the halls. Ten points from—Mr. Potter? Where are you going exactly?"

Bent over his knees he caught his breath before he stood. He tried to smooth his hair. "I just wanted to tell you that Cali told me that they're leaving soon. I know everyone is worried about me, Biara was acting odder than usual, but I think I'll be fine this time. Ron and Hermione know this time so things are different. I think, I hope, I've learned my lesson by this point, but I was hoping that we could start Occlumency lessons again since they helped me to clear my mind and keep things in perspective."

"Are you trying to reassure me or something, Mr. Potter?" This boy thinks he knows the answer to everything.

Harry took a step back. "Of course not." He chewed on his thumbnail. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea you've ever had Harry. "You know, you're probably right. I can keep my mind closed, so I'm fine." He looked around and took another step back. "I'd better get back to the tower. I've got homework to do." He turned and walked quickly around the corner then ran up the stairs and to the common room. The portrait swung shut behind him and he dropped into a chair next to Hermione. "So, um, what do I have to do for potions? I wasn't exactly paying a lot of attention to what was going on after I realized my potion was wrong." Harry scratched his neck. "I should have paid more attention to the heat after I neutralized it I think."

Hermione rolled her eyes and tapped her fingers on the table. "One day I'm going to tell you guys that you'll just have to figure it out on your own. Or go ask the Professor. That might make a good lesson."

Her fingernails indented his skin when he put his palm under hers. "Well that wasn't my brightest idea." He pulled his hand back and rubbed his skin. "How about we leave off the whole asking Professor Snape to repeat the assignment until next time. I already made a fool of myself in front of him today and I don't want to do it again so soon." He waved his hand when she opened her mouth. "I'll explain later. Right now I just want to wallow a bit and do my homework." He turned her planner around when she pushed it across the table and copied the assignment into his book. "Thanks. Ugh." He fell against the back of the chair. "Maybe I was lying about wanting to do homework." He flipped open his book and hid behind it, avoiding the paper ball she chucked at him. "Ok. I get it. I'll do my work. No worries."

She pushed the book back to the table. "You've told me more than once today that you'd tell me what was going on later. Is this one of those times when I should push because you need to talk, or one of the times when you'll just pout and get nothing done for the rest of the day if I don't let it go?"

He bit the inside of his cheek. "Cali is leaving soon. What I mean is that they're all going back, all the Academy students. The repairs to the school were just finished and have all been checked. Everyone was just a little worried because last time we, um, parted, things didn't end up going to well for either of us. Before you start panicking and looking for signs that I'm not doing well, I want to say that I don't feel nearly as upset or angry this time around. As long as she's alive we can still communicate in some way, and since Mom and Chris know how close we got, they'll make sure we're able to. And I think I just gave myself the optimism to be able to start my homework, so can I?"

With a sigh, Hermione waved her hand and pushed his book back up. "I'm glad you're okay Harry."

He winked over his book and ducked back down.

* * *

Cali shifted more onto his shoulder. "So I may have done something slightly illegal." She pulled out a cross necklace.

Harry took it and wrapped his fingers around it, making fingerprints on the metal. "How'd you rework it?" He turned his face toward her. "You did rework it, didn't you? Unless you're trying to drive me insane again."

She smacked his leg and settled back down. "I took out everything that let the power radiate out, and specified it so the only magic it can work off of is ours, and even then it requires physical contact and conscious intent to activate. It's only illegal on your end though. I had Dad help me with it. He said that he wouldn't mind having a way to check up on you."

Harry turned and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "This is going to work. Everything will be okay. I won't try to kill myself, you won't get kidnapped, and things will be back to normal."

Cal sighed and played with his fingers. "When things are normal, don't you end up getting attacked by Voldemort?"

Harry pulled his hand away. "That tickles! And yes, but that's just how things work." A throat cleared and Harry tilted his head back into the grass. "Hey Draco. It's been a while." He patted the ground. "Have a seat."

Draco glanced back and lowered himself to the ground. "I came to apologize for ignoring you, but I'm not actually sorry because you disappeared first without explaining what led to that scene in the Great Hall."

Cali giggled and waved her hand in the air. "So you came out here to fail to apologize?" She patted his knee. "I think I like this boy." She pressed her hand to the bump under her shirt. "Dad's calling, it's time to leave." She wrapped her arms around him. "Don't forget to write me. I'm going to be buried in work trying to catch up and that will force me to take a break once in a while." She sat up, sniffed, and ran toward the main entrance.

Harry flopped back down, scratching his neck and pushing the grass out of the way. "I really don't want to do my homework. I think I'll lie here and never move."

Draco got up and brushed the dead leaves off his cloak. "Well who does want to do homework? Be serious, staying out here won't do you any good, it's freezing. Can you at least fail to do your work inside where it's warm like the rest of the students?" He yanked Harry up and adjusted his gloves. "Well, accept for Granger and most of the Ravenclaws, but I don't think that's normal. Hopefully."

Harry picked his cloak off the ground and fastened it as they moved toward the castle. "Draco, can you do me a favor?"

There were several feet and three sighs before Draco responded. "It depends what the favor is I suppose. If you want to sleep with me to find out if you're really homosexual or not, I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

The stone railing caught his cloak as he fell against it. He forced himself to breathe between his fits of laughing. "No! Oh Merlin, I can't breath." He dropped to the bottom steps, shifting his cloak under him as the cold seeped through his robe. He took a few stable, deep breaths. "Um, actually, as, interesting, as your idea is, I just wanted to ask you if you'd keep watch over me for awhile. I don't plan on doing anything dumb, but then I didn't plan on it last time either." He shrugged and leaned back against the next step up. "I just want a safety net, just in case things go downhill quicker than I can deal with."

Draco brushed the dirt off the step before he joined Harry. "Having been petrified when you tried to kill yourself while I still hated you, of course I'll watch you." He straightened his part after a gust of wind scented with pine trees and something sweet. "I was going to do it anyway. Now can we finally make it inside? This is beginning to get ridiculous."

They got up and pushed through the main doors. "You're really an arse sometimes, Draco." Harry clapped him on the shoulder. "See you in class." He joined a group of Gryffindor fourth years headed toward the tower.

* * *

Another endless day of classes began as Harry dragged himself into the Potion's classroom and slumped onto his stool with a yawn. He unpacked his supplies and dropped his forehead to the desk for a moment before slipping his arm under it to absorb the chill.

Hermione poked her finger into his side. "Were you up late studying again?" She pushed his hair out of his eyes as he turned his head away. "I told you that you needed to sleep. Between sending owls everyday and doing the extra work you asked Biara for you haven't gotten to bed before two all week. Dobby told me he found you sleeping over your books twice." She turned his head back when he pushed her hand away. "I know that you want to learn anything that might help against Voldemort, but you'll never be able to beat him if you sleep through the fight."

"Granger's right." Draco pulled Harry's eyelid open for a moment and let go. His breath brushed against Harry's ear. "I think this also might constitute killing yourself. YOU asked ME to watch out for you and you've brushed me off a dozen times this week. I talked to Professor Snape last night. I'm to tell you to stay after class." He leaned back to avoid Harry's head as it popped up. "I'm sorry, but it had to be done. I tried to work this out between us. It's not my fault you wouldn't work within your own plan." He moved back to his seat and barely kept from slamming his supplies on the desk.

The door slammed behind Professor Snape as he walked down the aisle, spun, and crossed his arms. "This is a pop quiz." He pulled out his wand and sent a scroll flying to each student. "I suggest you begin now if you hope to finish."

Harry softly set his books on the ground, dipped his quill, and started the first essay. He nodded and leaned closer to his paper when Professor Snape glared at him. This is going to be the anti-fun of all conversations.

* * *

Idiot boy cannot even keep himself alive when left to himself. Occlumency my arse. He's too good at it already. Three weeks and I couldn't tell that anything was wrong except for being a bit more tired. His schoolwork was fine, improving even, and not one of the other teachers said that anything was wrong. Almost all of them mentioned how he was improving. Of course he's better now. At the beginning of the year he was overdosing on magic, letting Voldemort manipulate his actions while half asleep in class, and trying to kill himself when things got rough. Is there any possible way that he could have gotten worse without being dead? He turned away from the class and stalked to his desk. The charred goose livers from the previous class still smelled like rotting fruit. How anyone could make a potion so wrong as to make that reaction and following smell is unbelievable. Useless children. They're going to grow up and poison themselves trying to make a simple pepper up potion. He glared at a pair of whispering Slytherins who slid their chairs farther apart and bent closer to their parchments. He settled into his chair and uncorked his bottle of red ink. A class of second years is going to be miserable when they get their papers back. Perhaps if more than half of them had read the text and figured out that the essay had nothing to do with food and everything to do with the explosive qualities of nuts when added whole to a mixture with too little liquid to absorb the shock wave caused when the outer shell bursts they would have managed to create slightly more intelligent compositions. Perhaps they should have to redo the essay at twice the length. Hm. He glanced around the room. Harry's head rested on his arm as he scratched out answers, yawing every few minutes. "Time is up. Roll up your scrolls and leave them on my desk."

Miss Granger glanced at her watch and raised her hand. "Sir, we have ten minutes left in class."

Severus narrowed his eyes. "And how exactly does that affect this situation? Everyone hand in your scrolls now and get out."

The Gryffindors scrambled to get out of the room followed by the Slytherins. Harry stood at his desk, watching everyone file out. When the room was empty Severus spelled the door shut. Harry walked over and set his scroll on the desk, stepping back and staring at his feet.

"Sit, Mr. Potter." He stood and pulled out a chair from the first row. "Explain to me exactly what you have been up to that caused Mr. Malfoy to seek me out."

Harry scratched at his chin, pulling a scab off and pressed his finger against the spot. "I've just been studying a lot lately. I got behind while all that Jason stuff was going on and I've been trying to catch up. Plus, I've still got work from Mom to do. I didn't want people bothering me when I was trying to work, so maybe I blew Draco off a few times, but it's not that serious."

He pushed on the loose heel of his right shoe with the left one. "I hate when you just sit there until I tell you everything. It's creepy, you know, and it works a little too well." He pulled his feet onto the chair and rested his head on his knees. "I've been having dreams. They aren't about Voldemort or from him so you don't have to get worried, but I just haven't been able to sleep well lately. I've been studying instead to try and get back to sleep, and a few times I've fallen asleep over my books." He pushed his hair behind his ears. "I thought Draco noticed I was using glamours to cover how tired I really was, so I started pushing him off and avoiding him. That's all this is. I'm not hiding my poison concoctions in some spooky hidden lab or overdosing on magic or drugs or anything else. So can I go to my next class now?"

Severus took a vial of Dreamless sleep from his desk and handed it to Harry. "Take it for no more than four consecutive nights. Ideally allow two nights between every use. If the dreams continue for more than another week you WILL come back and we will find a solution. Agreed?"

The chair scraped against the stones. "All right." He took the vial and slipped it into a pocket of his bag. "Thank you." He picked up his bag and slipped out the door.

* * *

Well that's the chapter. I'm not happy with the style of some of it, but I can't fix it yet, so it'll have to do for now. Reviews are greatly appreciated because it does inspire me and also lets me know where I am in my success or less than success with the story. Thanks for reading. :) 


	40. Ugh, that's all I can say

See! I can update without months in between. I knew I could do it. It's a little shorter than I'd like (by like a page, so no worries) but I reached a point where my brain said I had to end now. I'm hoping to get the next chapter out soon, but we'll see how the world goes. Happy reading all.

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The cover slipped off his shoulder again. He pulled it back up and leaned farther over his book, the pages slipping against the cover under his elbow. His head rested on his palm and he scratched behind his ear as a piece of hair kept falling into it. This is boring. Very dull. Harry cracked his neck and yawned again. He pulled his fingers across the edge of blanket, tugging on a loose string. Who needs a sleeping potion when they have Greek history? Who many cities can you level before it just becomes old? He highlighted the section on the beginning of political democracy in the country.

"Harry, are you still awake?" Ron staggered across the room, bumped into Harry's trunk, responded with some foul language and stuck his head between the curtains.

His toes got stuck in the sheets as he stretched and uncurled. "I'm not depressed or hiding from my dreams, so there's no need to worry. I'm just finishing this chapter. Assuring everyone I'm okay has set me back a few chapters. This one's just long and boring, so I won't be convincing myself to read just one more tonight. With all the quittich training you've been doing lately you're exhausted. Go to bed. I will be up and awake and perhaps perky for breakfast tomorrow, and I expect the same from you."

Ron twisted the book to face him and groaned. "Better you than me, mate. I'm feeling more and more glad that I'm not in history of magic." He yawned. "I'm getting tired just thinking of it." He scratched his head and moved back to his bed.

Fifteen minutes later he marked off the last sentence, the marker squeaking along the page, and he snapped the book shut. He pushed it through the curtain onto his trunk and canceled the lumos on his wand. The covers slid against the sheets as he pushed between them and flipped over to get comfortable. He moved his hand under the pillow and wrapped around the necklace, the ends of the cross pressing against the edges of his palm.

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Hermione slammed the book onto the table. "I swear Ron, if you ask me to copy my work one more time I will report you to McGonagall for cheating!" She shoved him into a chair and stomped up three stairs before Harry caught her by the back of her robe and pulled her back. "Let go of me! Harry, what are you doing?" She pushed against his arm buy he tightened his grip and pulled her back toward the table, sighing at the giggling from the other tables.

He pushed her into the chair next to Ron. "I don't know what has gotten into you two lately, but it's getting really old. Why is it that I stop acting like an idiot and you two start in? Can't we all be sane and nice to each other at the same time?" He dropped into the chair on Hermione's right side and rubbed his temples. "Okay, that was really quite bitchy of me, so let's try this again. Why are you two mad at each other and what can Ron do to fix it?"

Ron slouched into the chair and rested his heel on the seat. "It's not always my fault." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Not completely my fault at least." He dropped his head against the back of the chair. "Not only my fault." He scratched his forehead and leaned forward, his feet dropping back to the floor. "All right." He pulled her hand over and tapped his fingers on the back of her hand. "I'm sorry about the whole, um, thing that you were mad at me about and I shouldn't have said the kind of, no, the very insulting thing behind the back of the person that, um--"

Harry pushed out of the chair and leaned between them, his hands on the armrests. "Either Ron's getting worse at this or he said something about me or that involved me and now he doesn't want to apologize in front of me because he'd be admitting that he said that and then I might get mad and then he'd basically be in the same situation with someone different mad at him." He stood and moved away. "So, I'm going to do us all a favor and go mail my letter to Cali while you two decide why you are mad about this when the person who apparently should be, which is me, doesn't even know what's going on." He turned and hurried out of the tower taking a few quick turns in case they came after him. The owlry was empty when he reached it and he whistled to call Hedwig. She swooped down and landed on his shoulder. "Hello Hedwig, how are you? I'm going to send you back to Cali again. Perhaps she'll give you something good to eat again until you're rested up to come back. Make sure you get some bacon out of her. She shouldn't be eating it anyway." He tied the letter onto her leg and let her soar out the window.

"Talking to your owl, Harry? Is that one of the signs of insanity that you keep suggesting that I show?" Draco leaned against the doorframe. An owl flew to him and he sent off his letter. "What are you doing up here again?" He followed Harry down the stairs. "Didn't you send off a letter yesterday?"

Harry laughed. "Maybe, but I'll have you know that I have many people with which I converse because I'm so very lovable." He shrugged and looked up at the hooting Pig flitting back up the staircase. "This time I'm letting them make up instead of just avoiding them. Did you finish the book yet?"

He tugged on Harry's sleeve and they went into the empty classroom around the corner. "I didn't understand some things." He hopped onto a desk after banishing the dust. "The muggles have had dozens of evil men that threw their world into chaos, but the next one always seems to make the same mistakes as the previous one. Hasn't anyone realized yet that invading Russia is not only pointless, but that it isn't necessary? They tend to fall in on themselves more often than their government is overthrown by outside armies."

The dirt stuck to his fingertips as he drew a smiley face on the desk before leaning against it. "I don't think so. I think that the mark of a true enemy is that they always think that they're smarter, faster, and stronger than those who came before them, and therefore they should be the ones in charge. Look at Voldemort. He's a halfblood himself and yet he wants to kill those like him because his life sucked. He spouts blood purity without having any, but thinks that it doesn't matter, perhaps because he's descended from Slytherin, muggle half not withstanding." He tilted his head. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Draco pushed off the desk and paced in front of it. "How would you know that?"

"Know what?" Harry sighed, took a deep breath, and curled his fingers around the edge of the desk. "That he's halfblood or that he's the heir of Slytherin?" He turned and walked to the window, leaning against the sill regardless of the dust. "Most of it I learned from his diary that your father tricked Ginny into using, and I guess the rest is from Dumbledore or something. I suppose I'm not supposed to spread it around because it would probably make him even madder at me. I don't know what else he could do though, I mean, besides killing me."

Draco muttered to himself, tapping his fingers on his arm, and spun to the door. "I have to go. I'll see you later." He ran to the door, paused, and walked quickly down the hall, his shoes clicking on the stone.

Dust flung into the air when he brushed his robes and he coughed, rushing away from the wall. "Maybe I should learn to keep my mouth shut all around." He pulled out his wand, banished the dust, and headed for the library for a new book of offensive spells and return the last one before Madam Pince came after him and stopped him from taking any more books.

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Ron slid onto the edge of the bed beside him as he pulled off his shoes. "It's over now. We made up. I just thought that you should know. So, um, thanks."

He shoved his socks into his shoes and pulled his legs onto the bed. "What were you fighting about? Was I right?"

Ron rubbed the back of his neck. "Yes. I said something about everything being better before, well you know, this summer, and she got really mad at me. It's just that I miss how things were. We were happier, weren't we?"

"No." Harry clapped Ron's shoulder and pushed back farther onto the bed. "I wasn't better or happier or anything. It's just that I didn't say anything, and I guess I was better at hiding it. This summer I got used to not being able to hide anything because, I don't know, Biara was just good at knowing what was going on. She's the mom that always knows what's going on unless you already know how to hide it, and keeping her from knowing what's going on takes practice that I haven't had. Cali helped me figure out how to hide that I'm breaking rules, but she refused to share the secret of hiding emotions because she didn't want to, I don't know, send me back still broken I guess." He rested his chin on his knees. "You didn't see me before they took me to the Academy. I wasn't doing well Ron. I was a complete mess, and I attacked Snape, and I was afraid to sleep."

Ron pulled his hair into his face. "I knew some of it, not exactly what happened, but that it was pretty bad. Dad came home one night and he was dropping things and Mom was crying when she thought we weren't around." He spun to face Harry. "You came back and seemed okay, at least for a little while before everything fell apart, and I thought that maybe it was something else." He pulled his knees to his chest. "It was hard, watching you with them. I know I'm a complete prat most of the time, but I was trying to be more, I don't know, something, maybe less annoying or judgmental, but that failed pretty badly."

Harry turned Ron's face toward his. "I can't let this conversation get any sappier, so I'm just going to say this. I don't want you to be anything else. You wouldn't really be Ron if you didn't say insensitive things without meaning to hurt anyone or got jealous with no reason to. Just don't stop doing your homework or Hermione's going to freak out on you again." He pushed his books on the floor into a pile. "She's been acting weird lately, have you noticed that?"

Ron shrugged and stretched his legs. "A little. She's been carrying around a lot more books lately, though I'm not sure how I noticed that."

Harry scratched his foot and sighed. "Should we do something? We're always supposed to do something when I'm being weird and snapping at people." He yawned. "Let's talk to her tomorrow, okay?"

Ron patted his shoulder. "Yeah. As long as I don't have to do it alone then everything should be okay." He smiled and hopped off the bed. "Night Harry."

Harry grabbed his pajamas out of his trunk and pulled the curtains closed. "Night."

---------------------------------

Harry,

I'm not sure what the lyrics to Transylvanian Concubine have to do with this sudden obsessive need to kill Voldemort, but I have accepted your weirdness and included them on a separate sheet.

On the other matter, I asked Dad about obliterating souls and, well he's still twitching two days later when he sees me with a pile of restricted books, so I'm going to say that it's seriously dark magic. I'm going to start another bogus project, maybe on fairies and their transition from the magical to the muggle world, to make him feel better.

Now the most important part. Mom gave me your emergency message about Hermione, though I don't think that it's really all that big of an emergency. It's possible that everything is catching up to her at once and she's overwhelmed. If that seems likely then I'd suggest forcing her to take a break, and for some her time, not just to help someone else with their work. If that fails to work, you're trying to do this without her knowing of course, then you'll have to sit her down and ask what's wrong. If all that fails, wait a week a try again. :)

Jason's transfiguration has improved so much. All of his skills have jumped an entire year in a few weeks and he won't tell anyone how, but let me tell you, if I'd known that all it would take was telling him that it's dumb and to shut up and do it anyway, well whatever. I won't tell him that you told me though. I think it would ruin everything.

Not much else happening here. Eating, sleeping, studying—the usual. I miss you Harry, and not only because you attract problems that I get to help solve. Good luck on your search.

Until we speak again,

Your muse against Voldemort,

Caliope

Harry folded the paper and slipped it into the bottom of the trunk with the others. He tore a blank page out of his notebook and started his next letter.

Cali,

Sorry about freaking out Dad. Don't worry; I'll give up on that whole obliterating souls thing then. What's my next option? All the offensive spells that seem to stand a chance are way too advanced for me to manage at this point. Not to mention that our wands still cancel each other out. If you have any ideas, let me know. I'll try your suggestions with Hermione. She's gone from angry with us, well at Ron anyway, to withdrawn and I'm starting to get worried. I know it's normal to get mad and depressed and move away from everyone that's starting to annoying you by just breathing, but this is moving toward the extreme end. And I'll have you remember that you DID say that it wasn't just me, even if later you suggested that it was just me and PMSing females, which I didn't appreciate, all right, maybe I did a little when you said I was allowed to eat all the chocolate I wanted because of it.

Harry covered his eyes, scratching his forehead, and leaned back over the paper.

How about we ignore that, mostly because I don't feel like starting this letter over again. It's getting late and I've been working on my Potions for hours. Professor Snape decided that since I took more advanced lessons with you guys that I should get extra work. I knew I should have just pretended to be dumb, but I know you're saying in your head to me while reading this that that's just the way to an early death. We've spent too much time together; I can here you in my head when I know I'm acting odd or pulling something dumb.

With all the tension with Ron and Hermione I feel like the only time I'm not worried or trying too hard is when I'm writing to you. Even Draco and I aren't speaking right now. We had a bit of a disagreement, though I can't figure out how it led to us not talking. At least I think that's what happened. I started babbling on about Voldemort like a freak, and he, I'm not sure what happened. He started acting nervous and took off. He even ruined a potion yesterday. Three hours of detention with Uncle Sev is not what I would have suggested as great fun. I think I'm going to wait for him to come to me, at least for another week or so, and if he doesn't seem better then I'll try talking to him.

Man, I think I've read too many books. It's fried my brain or turned me into Hermione or something. Pizza and mystery Science Theater 3000 would be a great distraction right now, but I'm in wizarding England so I think my choices are gobstones, wizard's chess, or exploding snap cards. I'm going to stop thinking these depressing thoughts and go find Ron, maybe he can think of something to entertain me.

Hugs and kisses

Harry

He sealed the letter and tossed it toward his trunk, giving Hedwig another owl treat. "Don't worry girl, I'll send it off with another owl this time so you can rest for awhile." He scratched her neck and laid back on the bed.

The door shut and Neville stumbled across the room, dropping his books on his bed. "You look bored, Harry. Long day?"

Harry twisted around and let his head hang off the edge of the bed. "I think I got used to being surrounded by people and technology with something always happening. Homework seems dull in comparison and my research isn't getting anywhere fast." He flipped onto his stomach. "I should go flying. Man, it's been forever."

Neville shook his head and perched on the edge of Harry's bed. "You know, you've been a lot different this year. First it wasn't as obvious. At the end of last year you were, well, we all were distracted and quiet." He shrugged and rubbed his arm. "You went downhill for a while, and then when they all showed up on Halloween you started disappearing more, but whenever you came back you were smiling." He smiled and pushed his hair, getting a little shaggy, behind his ears. "You were never really happy before, at least I didn't see it. There were moments when things got better for you, but then, when no one was watching you, you'd just stare off into space, curling in on yourself." He turned to face Harry. "I saw you with them when I took you to their lounge. They were different, and kind of strange, and you fit in with them, acted with them like I'd never seen you do before."

Harry sat up and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Cali says that's what I'd be like if my parents had survived, if I hadn't been suppressed all those years." He chewed on his lip and laughed. "And if my parents had gotten a clue and moved out of the depressing country of doom, as she calls it." He shrugged. "I think part of it was being able to hang out without anyone telling me how I was like my parents. Whether my relatives or anyone around here, it's really all I hear. Being able to live for yourself for a little while seems, I don't know, but I really liked it."

Neville sighed. "Yeah, that sounds really nice, though I don't really hear a lot, just get the sad looks."

Harry slid over and bumped his shoulder. "Do you think if we play the poor little orphan card, they'd give us lots of chocolate?"

Neville laughed and moved back to his bed. "I don't know, but it might be a good time to try when they start giving us lots of work and suggesting that the exams are coming." He picked his Herbology book out of his trunk and two chocolate frogs. "Of course, we could always just buy some and save our secret weapon for something else we want to do." He walked to the door and paused. "Like going after Voldemort. You'll need the sympathy card when you come back this time. I don't think they'll be as kind about it the fifth time." He shrugged and opened the door. "Unless you're almost dead. Then they might wait to yell at you for a little while."

Harry sighed and fell back on the bed. "I'll keep that in mind this time around."

Neville nodded and closed the door behind him after saying, "If you need help researching Harry, I'm willing to help."

Crinkling parchment made him freeze and pull his essay out from under the blanket. He smoothed the wrinkles and rolled it back up. It's all about me. Let's all help Harry and let the rest of the world fair for itself. He pulled his pillow over his head. They are going to kill me if I end up trying something this year. After all of this. Biara will have my head. Professor Snape will, I don't know, throw Jell-o at me or something. He pushed off the bed and grabbed the latest library book out from under his bed. So be it.

-----------------------------------------

Cold stone scratched across his thighs, sweat dripping into his eyes. Harry wrapped his hands around the chains and pressed his fingers against the links. He pushed his forehead to the ground. I've been here before. Where am I? Slim fingers trailed along his back. He threw himself to the side. "Oof." He landed on his butt. His jeans slid off his hips and he yanked them up, staring at—himself. "Well that's weird. Ugh." He stood and turned away. He took a deep breath and walked across the room. "Run out of ideas already? Or maybe you're just losing your memory. That happens when you get older. Just to remind you, we've done this before. Don't you think it's a little old?"

Voldemort leaned against the wall and laughed. "Yes, and you opened your mind and nearly poisoned yourself. You're weak, Mr. Potter. Falling apart, not paying attention in class, breaking laws? Don't you wish you were stronger, better, more powerful?" He moved closer, his slit eyes not moving from Harry. "You're nothing, Potter, and you will lose." He gestured at the struggling figure. "You can't even save yourself, how could anyone think that you could save others?"

The sobs were starting to get to him. He waved his arm. "Enough." The two disappeared. "I don't think this will work this time, but I guess we'll see." He shrugged and pushed his hands into his pockets. "And if you keep up with using all your old plans, why would I have to do anything? Those from the first time around will no just how to beat you." He threw himself backwards and jolted awake, falling out of his chair in the common room.

Ron tousled his hair. "You all right, mate? Bad dream? Maybe about having to do your homework since you were sleeping on it?"

Chattering and a few giggles followed him getting off the floor. He rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair, the sweat spiking it. "Yeah, something like that." He picked up his quill, got rid of the ink splattered across the bottom, and continued his essay.

Hermione came through the portrait hole and dropped into the chair next to him with a sigh. "Harry, you are the best. That was wonderful. You must have spent so much time putting it together." She pulled him into a big hug and relaxed back again. "I'm sorry I've been so mean lately. It's just been really hectic with all of my classes."

Ron smiled and patted her hand. "No problem, but a little warning next time would be nice."

She swatted at his hand and pulled her books out of her bag under the table. "So what are we doing?"

They leaned together over his transfiguration book as she pointed out the important parts for the essay. Harry winced and took a few deep breaths, clearing his mind as the pressure built up. He added the last sentence to his parchment, blew on it to dry the ink, and rolled it up. "I'm going to bed. I'm not feeling too well." He waved them off as he gathered his stuff. "Don't worry, I don't need Madam Pomfrey. I just need to lie down for a while. I'll see you guys tomorrow morning." He swung his bag over his shoulder and slowly climbed the stairs. He closed the door to the dorm and threw himself on his bed.

Fabric rustled and Neville's head poked out from between his curtains, a quill behind his ear. "Are you okay?" He slid over and swung his legs over the edge. "You look a little pale."

Harry kicked his shoes off and shoved his bag to the floor. "I'm exhausted. Could you do me a favor?"

Neville moved over to Harry's bed. "Sure. What do you need?"

Harry scrambled through his bag without looking over the side. He wiped ink off his hand on the inside of the bag and pulled out his quill, ink, and a piece of parchment.

I f_ell asleep doing homework. I had the same vision as this summer. I managed to break out so I was in control, at least to a small extent. Voldemort was there. We talked. I think he's planning something._

_ Harry_

Harry waved it until I was dry and rolled it up. "Can you take this to Professor Dumbledore? I need to tell him something, but I don't think I could make it down the stairs let alone to his office."

Neville walked to his bed and pulled his shoes on. "Sure. No problem." He took the parchment and hurried down the stairs.

Harry let his head fall back, pulling his pillow down under his head. He took deep breaths, letting his mind dull to a hum.

The door shut softly and Harry listed to the right as the person sat on the bed. "Harry, are you all right?"

He forced his eyes open, squinting against the emerald robes. "I'm fine, just very tired. I broke out of the vision and even finished my essay, but then I just lost all of my energy. I was just clearing my mind so I could sleep."

Dumbledore patted knee. "All right, Harry. Get some rest, but if you still feel tired tomorrow go see Madam Pomfrey before breakfast. All right?"

"Yes sir." Feeling a last pat on his knee he curled up and blanked his mind again.

-------------------------------------------

Harry flipped onto his stomach, covering his ears to block out the alarms.

"Come on mate; time to get up." The metal hooks clattered against the bar as Ron pulled his curtains open. "Are you still tired? You went to bed early!"

He yanked on the pillow to toss it at Ron and his fingers slipped off it. He turned his face to the wall, took two deep breaths, and looked back. Ron's eyes were opening wider and his mouth opening farther, so he laughed weakly. "Don't freak out, Ron. I just didn't sleep very well. Go get ready; I'll get myself out of bed before you come back."

Ron scanned him from toe to head before nodding and gathering his things, glancing back on his way to the bathroom. "If you're sure--"

Harry lay back and waved his arm. "Yes. Go." Ron finally left, Dean and Seamus following him.

Neville pulled on his shoes and dressing gown. "Do you need help to the hospital wing?"

A drop of sweat trailed across his temple and into his hair. "Yes please. And if you could tell Ron when you get back that I got a message from the Headmaster so he won't worry that would be wonderful too." He pushed himself up on his elbows for a moment before falling back. He rolled over to grab his shoes, but his fingers brushed the edges and refused to hold on.

Neville coughed and pulled the slippers from under the other side. "I don't think there's time for that. He slid under Harry's arm closest to the edge and pulled him over, pushing his feet to the ground and into the slippers. "Are you ready?"

Grasping all the energy he could muster he stood, leaning heavily on Neville, and moved as quickly as possible toward the door. "We should hurry as much as we can before this energy boost wears off."

Neville nodded and helped him to maneuver down the stairs.

------------------------

And there we are. Another chapter done. I REALLY want to finish this story soon, so don't expect months before the next update. crosses fingers and really hopes she isn't lying Please review and make my email a happy place to visit.


	41. Well that

Another update! Go me! It's getting weird, but things keep popping into my head that make the end clearer, so we'll see where it takes us. I sense fun and climax coming, so maybe I'll have even more incentive to write. Back to school for me in ten days, so we'll see if I get another out before I go. Happy reading all

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He closed his eyes and squirmed on the sheet to get comfortable as Neville shuffled to Madam Pomfrey's office. Her shoes clicked quickly across the ward.

"My, my, Mr. Potter. I must admit, despite the headmaster's note last night, I never expected to see you this morning. What is the trouble?"

Harry forced his eyes open and tilted his head until he could see her head. "I couldn't manage to lift a pillow or hold myself up when I woke up, I have no idea how we managed to make it here, and it's sapping my energy to keep my eyes open."

Her eyes widened and she shooed Neville back to the dorm and started casting diagnostic spells at the same time.

His head dropped to his arm, his forehead pressed against the bone. His palm tingled and his pulse beat with painful jolts in the center. Her robe scraped against itself as she turned and mumbled to someone next to her. Mint. Who did anything with mint?

"Harry?" Professor Snape lifted his free arm and pressed his fingers to his wrist, slipping slightly on the sweat. "Are you shielding right now?"

"Yes." His sleeve brushed his arm and the fingers pressed down harder on his neck. "Do you feel any presence? Are you actively blocking him from your mind?"

"No." Fingernails scraped lightly against his skin as the hand tilted his head back and he swallowed the potion slowly poured into his mouth. Blueberry or raspberry or berry berry. He gagged and the mint scented hand covered his mouth, keeping the last of the potion in despite the fishy aftertaste.

"Now, Mr. Potter, you'll be a little dizzy and in pain for awhile, but it will get rid of the weakness. I'll inform your teachers that you won't be in class today and make sure the Headmaster is aware of the situation. He wanted to be informed if you arrived this morning." She left for her office.

He gasped as his foot cramped and twisted to rub it.

Professor Snape pushed him down, fingers digging into his collarbone. "No, Harry, you have to let the potion work."

He arched against the pain kicking out and trying to stretch the muscle. "It hurts."

One arm moved and pressed his thighs to the bed, the robes draping over him. "I know, but it has to be done to remove the toxins. There is no other way."

Harry stilled and relaxed into his humming mind state, letting Voldemort be easily pushed out. "He was back again. He's gone." He turned his head and opened his eyes, Professor Snape staring at his still cramping foot. "What do you mean toxins?"

His head whipped back, and he swore and muttered under his breath glancing a Poppy's office. "The toxins in your body were not being filtered out. Your kidneys are undamaged and working properly, but a certain amount was not being filtered but rather was somehow replicating itself. The potion is apparently working, as your muscles are contracting, to force those toxins out of your body." He pressed down harder as the cramp moved upward and Harry gasped. "But without an explanation of what caused this there's no way to keep it from happening again. The Headmaster warned me to look for anything caused by your vision if you came to the hospital wing. Was there anything in your vision last night to suggest he caused it?"

Hard stone, cold stone, warm fingers, extra robes. Something sharp in my lower back, kicking, tube falling to the floor. "Something in the vial. He injected me with something. Something—Ow!" His other foot cramped at the same time the other moved higher. "Creatinine. The vial said creatinine." He clenched his teeth and pulled in as much air as he could. "How long is this going to last?"

He pressed down harder and he stared off into midair. "Creatinine? Natural poison. It wouldn't show up as unusual on medical scans. It could have killed you without anything being noticed if it built up slowly. Minor symptoms getting worse would easily be explained away by stress or working too hard, not getting enough sleep. Why would he have it progress so quickly?"

Harry smacked his head into the mattress. "Broke free. Threw myself out of the vision. It could've screwed something up. Or maybe he panicked and tried to salvage the plan. Gryffindor stupidity, remember? We never ask for help until the last minute." He curled his arm and wrapped his fingers around Professor Snape's hand. "Can't I be asleep during this?"

He squeezed back "I'm afraid not. You're muscles would relax and your circulation would slow. The potion wouldn't expel the toxins before it is broken down by the body. Just hold on. Don't exhaust yourself struggling."

He lay back and focused on the humming and not the searing pain moving up his body. This isn't a movie. I'll be fine. It won't kill me when it reaches my heart. He won't let me die. Biara would kill him.

--------------

Two hours. Severus relaxed into the chair next to the bed, the legs squeaking as he leaned back, and set the empty vial on the table. The body was pale, covered in sweat, and still shaking a bit as the muscles contracted a few last times. Severus pushed the soaked hair off Harry's forehead and leaned back again.

The Headmaster conjured a chair and lowered into it. "I had to ward the doors just to keep his friends away between classes." He chuckled and patted Harry's arm. "You gave him the sleeping potion?" At Severus' nod he continued. "Does Harry believe it was the vision that caused this?"

Severus ran his fingers through his hair and pushed it behind his shoulders. "Yes he does. He thinks his interference may have altered the Dark Lord's intentions. I don't know why, but he decided to trust you this time instead of handling it himself, and it saved his life." Severus rubbed his forehead. "I honestly do not know whether this is a good thing or if we should be terrified that things were really that bad."

Albus squeezed his shoulder. "I think for now that we should be grateful that he is all right. Though what he will tell his friends is an interesting question. Mr. Longbottom seems to have become very good at getting our young Mr. Potter to where he needs to be to heal, it is certainly not what I expected." He steepled his fingers and leaned back in the chair. "Has he returned to normal?" He chuckled. "Well, at least not falling asleep and ignoring his friends?"

Severus nodded and checked Harry's pulse again, settling down slowly. "Yes, though he is still spending much of his time alone. I believe it is just because of the extra work from Biara though, so at least he does not seem to be intentionally isolating himself." He glanced around and cast a privacy bubble. "Have you noticed anything strange about Mr. Malfoy lately?" The lemon scented bag finally appeared and he rejected the candy held out to him.

The Headmaster sucked on the candy for a moment. "In what way?"

Severus growled. "I do not know if I am just being paranoid, but he seems to have backed away from Harry, and he has been, jumpy, skittish for the last week. I asked him if he was having any problems and the boy actually stuttered before leaving as quickly as possible."

Bushy eyebrows raised as the candy clicked against his teeth. "That is odd. You have no idea of what could have brought this behavior on?"

Harry coughed and turned to face them. "That would be my fault I think." He wrapped his arm across his chest and pushed himself onto his elbow. Albus helped him to sit and the boy took several deep breaths before speaking. "I was talking about Voldemort without watching what I was saying, and I may have freaked him out. At least, he seemed to bolt from the room pretty fast."

Severus groaned and dragged his hands over his face. "What exactly did you say to him?"

Harry grimaced and shrugged. "I don't really remember. I'd just gone to the owlry to give Ron and Hermione some alone time to discuss why she was mad at him because he said something about me, and I met up with Draco and he wanted to talk. I wasn't censoring my knowledge to what everyone else knows. I think I said something about him being a hypocrite 'because he's a half-blood, and I said something about every evil leader thinking they're better than everyone else that came before them, but all in all it's a bit hazy. I've tried to talk to him a few times but he's just run off and now he's started avoiding me all together, which is pretty impressive since we have classes together." He rubbed the back of his head with the hand not holding his ribs. "I'm sorry if I've screwed him up mentally or something, but I really didn't mean to freak him out. I was just talking about the books I lent him from Biara's evil history class."

Severus pulled out his wand and cast a diagnostic spell. "Harry, are you in any pain?"

He tipped his head to the side, considering the question. "Not really, no. Though I feel a little shaky. Why?"

"You should not be awake. The sleeping potion should have knocked you out for another three hours." He grasped Harry's wrist. "Also, you're holding your ribs."

Harry looked down and dropped his arm. "Um, I ran into a desk the other day. It's just a bruise that didn't hurt until all my muscles contracted and reminded me it was there." He slid back on the bed as Severus stood to get a healing potion. "No! Um, it's fine. It was nearly gone already."

His fingers clutched Harry's jaw and tilted his head to meet his eyes. "How about the truth now, Mr. Potter?"

He squirmed and finally looked him in the eyes. "I cast a spell that backfired on me and it, um, kind of bounced off the wall and hit me. Nothing else happened though; it just gave me a bruise." He kept his eyes moving just often enough to avoid legilimency.

Severus released him and stepped back. "What spell?"

He cleared his throat and rubbed his ear. "You know, I don't really remember all that well." He held up his hands when Severus stepped forward. "Okay, all right, it was niasfumarante."

"What a wonderful bit of mumbling that was, Mr. Potter. Perhaps you could actually say that so that others could understand you this time?"

------------------

Harry slowly dropped his hands from his ears. Professor Snape seemed to be through yelling. Now he was pacing on the other side of the bed from Professor Dumbledore mumbling under his breath. Harry slid slowly toward Dumbledore. "Um, the book didn't describe it as being all that dangerous, just very complicated to cast. Is there a reason I shouldn't have?" He ducked his head. "I mean, besides from the fact that I obviously don't have the ability to cast it since it did backfire on me."

Dumbledore leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I think perhaps that it is less about the spell itself and more about the class in which the spell belongs." He rested his chin on the tips of his fingers. "Have you been researching offensive spells?"

Harry sighed. "Yes." He pulled his knees to his chest. "I just want things to be the way they should be, and that can't happen until Voldemort's gone, so I was trying to find a way to get rid of him. Not that it worked." He linked his hands behind his head. "Anything that seems likely to work is too complicated for me to cast, and how do you kill someone who's been trying to become immortal for longer than you've been alive?"

Dumbledore cupped Harry's cheek. "I know that you want to be able to spend time with your friends and do your homework without worrying about attacks or who is inside your mind, but you can not rush these things, Harry. You will find a way when it is time and you are ready to face him for the last time. Trying to do too much too fast will only get you killed. Whatever your life is like now or has been, you are still a young man with much to learn."

Harry dropped his arms and leaned back on them. "How many more are going to die before I'm finally ready to do what I've been destined to do?"

Severus yanked his arm and turned him around. "That is neither your fault nor your responsibility. You are to go to class and learn about Goblin rebellions and how to transfigure useless things into other useless things and do completely stupid things with your friends." He blinked and released his arm, taking a few steps back. "I must return to my classes." He nodded several times, slowly turning around, and moved toward the door.

Harry's mouth dropped open.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, covering a laugh. "I think that our potions master has just, how would you say it, freaked himself out." He patted Harry's hand and stood. "Get some rest. I don't think Poppy will let you out of here before dinner, and certainly not if you don't rest. I will tell your friends that you are resting and completely recovered. I will allow you to decide how much you want to reveal to them about what happened." He walked toward the door humming to himself and chuckling.

Harry lay back, fluffing the pillow under his head, and sighed. "Completely nutso. All of them." He shrugged and curled into a ball, rubbing his arm as his bicep contracted.

---------------

The side streets of Hogsmede were narrower than the others he'd been on. Hermione and Ron had been arguing and had barely responded when he said he was going to run an errand and would meet up with them later. He turned onto a dusty road and jogged to the third building on the right. The streaked window looked in on a long counter and a row of cubicles with phones along the far wall. He took a deep breath and entered, nodding to the man behind the desk, and moved to the phone in the back corner passing a Hufflepuff seemingly trying to convince his father to buy an owl. The wooden chair creaked slightly as he sat and he slid to the edge and picked up the receiver. The endless numbers and choices for his calling card finally ended and it rang.

"Hello, fairy expert speaking, how may I avoid your call?"

Harry snorted and bit his lip before speaking. "Hello, I'm with the Voldemort removal squad. I just called to report failure and hospitalization."

"Are you all right? Well of course they must have let you out since you're calling, unless you escaped and then you must have been able to make it to a phone. What happened?"

The chair legs scraped against the floor as he pulled it closer to the phone to avoid the goggling Hufflepuff. "I'm fine, I've been out for three days, and it was a poisonous vision and a backfired spell. The vision is what got me into Pomfrey's clutches, but the bruises from the spell caused an unforeseen reaction."

"With the detox?"

He leaned closer and lowered his voice. "With Uncle. He freaked out. First he yelled, which I expected, but then he started saying it wasn't my fault and that I should act like the kid I'm meant to be. I think he even freaked himself out because he left quickly and he's been avoiding me since I was freed, which was the same day I went in."

"Wow. What did the wondrous headmaster have to say about the spell? Did he restrict your book access?"

"No, but he told me that I can't rush things and that I would find the spell that I need to defeat him when it was time to use it."

"Huh. That's taking a lot on faith and coincidence, but I'll believe it. He is uber old and respecting your elders and all that. Well ignoring death and destruction for a moment, have you made up with everyone yet?"

"Hermione, yes. I set up some her time and she's been calm ever since, except when yelling at Ron, which I didn't expect to change anyway. Draco still won't talk to me, and he's acting weird toward Professor Snape too. I sent him a few letters since he won't let me catch him in person, but he hasn't responded. I've seen him in the library, but I don't want to chase him out when he's trying to get his work done."

"Things will work out, so no worries. I had Kyle tarot card it. There's something wonky in the mix that's messing up the cards and it keeps moving closer to the present. If you hang in there, maybe everything will unfold and be happy, or at least be a little clearer."

"Thanks Cali. Anything happening with you?"

"Well actually, I have thrown myself entirely into fairy research. I've been trying to find things on the land of the fey, but everything refers back to this author that I can't find anything by except a book of obscure anecdotes and currently useless spells. This one spell has no context and I wanted to see if there was a page missing or something, but apparently even this book is a first edition that you can't find anywhere else. I even checked Hogwarts for goodness sake. The spell has got this weird picture of tree braches above the spell and it just feels like the picture isn't finished, and I'm babbling. Anyway, Dad's been spontaneously hugging me all weekend, so I think he's happy with my intense interest in fairies and I'm finally back to normal on that front." The voices were far off and muffled. "Damn, I'm being drafted for kickball in the first snow of the season, and I don't think it's going to last long cause it's kind of a pitiful snow. If anything breaks there let me know, and I'm sending you my treatise of fairies and a photocopy of that damn tree. Will you draw a picture of what the rest of it should look like to make me feel happy and complete? No one else here has managed it."

"Sure Cali. Have fun with your kickball. Bye."

"Bye. Kisses."

The line went dead and Harry set the receiver back in place, leaning his head against it with a smile. He left the store and walked back to the Three Broomsticks to meet Ron and Hermione so he could drag them to Honeydukes so he could buy chocolate to stuff himself with later.

----

Harry popped another chocolate mint and pushed himself to the corner of the bed. "So it's like I'm having a backlash or something."

Neville let his Transfiguration book drop into his lap. "How?"

He rolled onto his back and jumped a little, spreading out the bunched covers under him. "Well I was completely out of energy and now I feel like I could run around the school six or seven times and then play a few games of quittich. Instead I'm trapped in here doing work." He laughed when Neville rolled his eyes. "Okay, distracting other people from their work while I consume too much sugar and think about what I should be doing, and it's not even driving me insane. I almost feel like homework would be fun." He bounced a few times, the springs barely creaking. "So is this. Everything's fun." He slid back and looked at Neville upside down. "Do you think I should be worried or should I just enjoy this while it lasts?"

His trunk hinges folded, tossing random papers and drawings of trees to the floor. His potions and charms books jolted the bed a bit followed by the assignments, quills, and ink. Neville brushed glitter off his hands on to the sides of his robe. "If you can't concentrate enough to do your homework then you should see Madam Pomfrey because there's no way you'll be able to sit still through class."

A quill broke in half as he pulled the pile to him. "Whoops." He shrugged and tossed it to the floor. "Good point. Homework it is and then drawing more trees."

With a sigh, Neville shook his head and picked up his book. "You've drawn hundreds of trees and in all different classes too. I think I'm finally going to ask, why are you drawing trees?"

The assignment crinkled as he stuck it in the right page of his potions book. "Cali found this random spell with a picture of tree branches and because she's Cali it annoyed her that it was only part of a tree and she wanted the rest of it. Instead of trying it herself she's contracted everyone else into this quest for the perfect tree." He plucked the photocopy off the floor. "I must admit though, there is something about his tree that makes me want to see the rest of it, like they'll be something cool waiting. I tried sticking in some fairies or forest creatures, but that didn't work either. They didn't fit the slight shadows in the branches." He pushed it back onto his trunk. "But now I'm doing homework. So this I shall do, and concur the evil devil of potions knowledge." He hummed and opened the book, stopping when Neville cleared his throat, and unrolled the nearest parchment. He added a period and blinked. He glanced up at the three feet of charms essay above it. "Um, Neville, how long have I been working?"

He glanced at his watch. "Around two hours. I think that means you can avoid the hospital wing for once." He smiled and looked back to his charms book.

Harry took a deep breath, closed his ink, rolled his parchment, crinkling a little until he smoothed it out, and set it all to the side. "I just finished all my assignments without remembering doing them or getting the new books. I remember all the information but not actually reading or writing it." Neville's eyes widened and Harry slipped his shoes on. "I'm just going to pop down and see Madam Pomfrey for a bit. I'll be back." He dumped his bag out on the bed and put in some parchment, his old tree drawings, the photocopy, and a pencil. He slipped the bag over his shoulder and hurried through the halls.

Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey were huddled near the potions cabinet. "Um, excuse me."

They turned quickly and Pomfrey stared for a moment before wiping her hands on a towel sitting on the table and hurrying over. "What can I do for you, Mr. Potter? Are you feeling all right?"

His bag rustled as he set it next to the nearest bed. "I feel wonderful actually. I have more energy than I can ever remember having. Neville said I should come if I couldn't make it through my homework because then I wouldn't be able to sit through class, but I finished it fine." He scratched his neck. "The thing is, I can't remember reading the chapters or writing any of the essays even though I remember the information."

Professor Snape ran over and pushed him onto the bed and both of them started casting diagnostics. After a few minutes they both stepped back and whispered to each other. After that continued for awhile they took a few more steps back.

Harry took out his latest tree and started shading the trunk. The shadows needed something else on the trunk to cast them, but he couldn't figure out what the shapes should be. A little curvy in places, not too fat.

"What are you doing?" Professor Snape pulled the drawing out of his hand, knocking over his bag as he stepped too close. He pulled out his wand, swept all the papers back into the bag, and then dumped the whole thing onto the bed.

"Hey! You'll wrinkle them!" He sorted through and pulled out the photocopy, smoothing it and setting it next to him. "There. Now you can wrinkle away."

He sorted through them slowly. "What are these? Why are you drawing nothing but trees?"

"Cali found a spell with a tree drawn on the page, but it was only the top of the tree. She wanted someone to draw the rest of it for her. I just can't get it right, so I'm still trying. Why? And what's wrong with me?"

Professor Snape stacked the pages and tucked them back into the bag. "The spells did not show anything out of the ordinary. It may be that while removing the toxins, your muscles got used to a higher level of energy being used and it is continuing that level. Without toxins to expel, it would be directly used as energy. Perhaps you just got so involved in your work that time seemed to stop. It's not normal, most students in this school seem to have to force themselves to do their work at the last moment, but it is possible."

Madam Pomfrey cast one more spell and nodded. "If it continues, or if it gets any worse, then come back and I'll run some tests, but right now it may just be that you're not as active as you usually are without quittich. Finding another way to get some exercise and work off your excess energy may help. Now off you go." She shooed him off the bed.

He picked up his bag and walked to the door, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape leaning together by the potions cabinet again. He closed the door slowly and leaned against it for a moment before heading for the kitchens. Maybe they had some chocolate cake.

"Psst. Harry!" Draco leaned around the corner and beckoned him forward.

Harry jogged down the corridor and stopped dead halfway down. Draco ignores me everywhere for over a week, and then suddenly appears in a corridor wanting me to follow him. He slipped his wand out of his pocket and pressed against the opposite wall, walking slowly toward the branching hall. "Draco, are you there?"

He leaned back around, frowning before glancing over and seeing him against the opposite wall. "What are you doing over there? Come on, I have something to show you."

Harry nodded a few times. "Sure, just first tell me something. When I was in Professor Snape's office with the whole picture thing, what was I saying when you came in?"

Blond hair covered his cheek as he glanced both ways and turned back. "What are you talking about? Come on, we have to hurry before someone comes."

"Actually I was headed to meet some people elsewhere. I'll come some other time when you aren't trying to get me to go to strange places and looking like you need to run before someone sees you."

"What?" Draco glanced down at himself and then around the corridor. "Oh." He grimaced and glanced at the ceiling. "You were mumbling something with fake words." He scratched his head. "Only you said that it wasn't nonsense words but some kind of poetry." He looked up. "All right?"

Harry lowered his wand. "All right, now why were you acting so weird? 'Cause I'm still not ready to just run off with you."

Draco rubbed his eyes. "I've been looking for something for a week without letting anyone else know I'm looking for it and I'm tired and I don't want to ruin everything at the last minute. Have you seen Professor Snape around here?"

"He's in the hospital wing and it looks like he's not planning on leaving for awhile. Why?" He took a few steps closer to Draco.

"If he finds out he'll tell—it doesn't matter. Just let's go now, okay?" He was picking at his fingernails.

Harry ran over and grasped his hands. "Okay. Let's go."

Draco let out a deep breath and dropped his head. "Thanks." He tugged Harry's arm and they went down a secret passage behind a suit of armor. "I know I've been ignoring you and the letters you were sending, but I've been trying to figure things out, and when you said that the dark—that Voldemort was a half-blood, it reminded me of something I saw a long time ago." He cast lumos and the passage lit up. "I found this spell when I was little and looking for books on fairies. I couldn't find it in the library but--"

Harry dropped his bag and yanked out the photocopy. "This one?"

Draco started and pulled the page closer. "Where did you get this?"

He closed the bag and pulled Draco down the passage. "Cali sent it to me to draw the tree so the unfinished branches would stop annoying her. Why? Is this what you were looking for? Does that mean that you should have been talking to me instead of running away?"

Draco smacked him and pulled him out into one of the halls near the library. "It's not what I was looking for actually, it's just similar. And didn't anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't be so smug when you find out you're right?"

Harry dropped into the chair in the darkest back corner of the library. "Nope. So what's so important that you were waiting in a dark hallway where you didn't even know I'd show up?"

The book was split down on of the seams and seemed to be held together by magic. "I saw you headed to the hospital wing, so I waited there in the hopes that you wouldn't be confined to a bed for a few days, which I thought was likely since you made it there under your own power. This is the book I finally found. It was shoved at the back of a shelf behind others. I never would have found it if I wasn't looking for an obscure reference book for the last potions essay." He turned the pages slowly until he was a quarter of the way through and turned it around.

The roots and bottom of a tree with the same shadows he'd been drawing on the trunk. "It's the same tree, the same shadows, which aren't overly noticeable in the branches unless you look really well because of the shadows the branches themselves cast on each other, but they're there, just hidden." He ran his finger under the words. "It has the same grammatical structure. Do you think they're part of the same ritual? This seems to be the recipe for a potion."

Draco leaned back in the chair, sighing. "I don't know. I can't remember what the other piece was about. The one I saw at home was the trunk, but it wasn't what I was looking for so I ignored it."

"What were you looking for? I mean, with this. Why did you all of a sudden go into research mode?"

Draco stood and walked around the table, perching on the edge next to him. "You said that Voldemort was a half-blood, and that's not what I." He twisted the ends of his hair. "I just thought, maybe, it wouldn't be so bad if." He dropped his hands to the table. "You know, maybe everyone in the world could just live their own lives, at least as much as they can. With that girl, Cali, she didn't seem so bad, and Professor Snape said that she was a pure blood and a daughter of a minister of magic, and all he wanted to do was kill her. I just, look." He growled and covered his face. "It doesn't matter. The middle part, apparently, was something about half-bloods and war." He tugged at his hair. "It was a long time ago, but when I was thinking, that's what came into my head, so that's what I looked for. All I remember well is thinking that it sounded like another of my father's books he wouldn't let me touch that he sometimes read to me. It was about all these prophecies that hadn't come true and had been around for hundreds or thousands of years. The one time I asked about the ones that came true, well it wasn't pretty. I guess that's why I remember it." He leaned close to Harry's ear. "I don't know what this means or what I was looking for, or why I've been obsessed with this and ignoring my homework for a week. It just happened. I got this really strong feeling today like I needed to tell you about it, so I did, all right?"

Harry pulled out his wand and duplicated the page, putting it along with the photocopy. "All right. You were looking for fairy information when you found the trunk?"

"Yes."

He nodded and pressed his hand to Draco's cheek. "Things come back when we need them." He pushed back the chair and pulled a chocolate frog out of his pocket, pushing it into Draco's palm. "Have some chocolate, relax, do your homework, go to class, and stop acting like you've lost your mind and everything will work out." He laughed. "Kyle and his tarot are right more than wrong after all." He hugged Draco and patted his head when his mouth hung open. "I'm going to go run around the school a dozen times or so, eat some more chocolate and waste large amounts of times doing nothing and distracting others from their work. I'll see you in class." He ran out of the library, ignoring the shouting librarian, and ran all the way to the tower, taking the longest route with the most detours he could.

-------------------------

Oh my, that got a little random toward the end, but you should know that I only got this chapter finished, edited, and posted today because I became possessed of the same excessive energy as Harry seems to possess. It really was quite fun. :) Have fun until the next update.


	42. story time?

I know, I know. I suck at updating. But I am posting this even though it took a lot of switching computer stuff since my internet is currently dead. I'm so close to the end I can taste it, but it may be a little while before my next update. Two, two page papers due in the next to weeks for one class and I'm still trying to finish Don Quixote for my independent study. But hold on everyone because we'll get there. And it'll be awesome. (I hope).

-------------------------------

Harry dropped into the seat next to Hermione. "I need a favor with no questions asked. Can you do that? It doesn't even involve leaving your chair."

She closed the book in front of her and folded her arms over it. "I'll do my best."

He slid the photocopy of the branches and the copy he made of the trunk in front of her. "Have you seen any pictures like this before? Not these pictures exactly since the trunk is from a book here, but just similar."

Hermione pulled them closer. "Oh. I certainly wasn't expecting this. It's not even homework." She leaned over them. "I'm sorry, Harry. The only place I may have seen something like this, and this is going to sound silly, but I think I've seen a tree like this in my fairy tale book at home. I don't remember which story it was exactly, but I think it was in the book of obscure ones. The story was probably something about fighting great evil or the like. That's what most of them are about."

Harry clutched her arms. "Can you have the book sent here?"

Hermione jumped and wrapped her hands around his wrists. "Hey, breathe. Sure. Why not? I can write my parents and ask them to send it, if you want it."

Harry slipped the pages into his bag between the books. "Yes, I want. I definitely want. You can use Hedwig whenever you're ready." He smile and swung his bag onto his shoulder. "Fighting evil, huh? Perfect. I'll see you later. I'm off to see a man about a potion."

----------------

He covered another paper with twenty incorrect uses of star anise in red. Severus wrote an F and a few scathing comments on the top and threw it on the pile.

Harry burst in, slammed the door, and cast three privacy spells.

"What are you doing?"

He pulled a piece of parchment out of his bag and smacked it onto the table. "Hi. Sorry. I need a little help. What would this potion do?" He looked around and slowly lowered himself into the chair next to his desk. "Um, please?"

Severus rolled his eyes and tilted the paper toward him. "What is this?"

"I don't know."

Severus looked toward him.

He held his arms up in surrender. "I actually don't have any idea. It's from a book falling apart in the library. Draco showed it to me." Harry chewed on his thumb. "I'm not too sure why, but that doesn't matter because it fits with the page Cali sent me. And Hermione's going to get me the middle, hopefully. The top part has a spell on it." He took another paper out of his bag. "It's about releasing something to do something." He shrugged. "I'll admit that I might not understand it all that well."

Severus took the paper, scanned it, and handed it back. "I'm not surprised. It's in middle English. I believe this potion is a basic activator. I'm not sure of some of the ingredient names, things have changed a bit in the last few hundred years. If I'm right, then this composition of the potion is a particularly weak version. Mario Vantone found out how to strengthen the activator potion in 1849 by holding back the addition of the hawthorn and adding--" He pushed the paper back. "Shut up Potter."

Harry slipped the paper off the essays and tried to hide his smile. "I'm sorry, but if you were talking about Star trek, you'd be the biggest geek ever." He coughed. "Sorry. Could you give me a stronger potion? Wait. Maybe that's a Gryffindorism. Would adding a stronger activator to this while thing be a bad idea?"

"Do you have any idea what this sequence of things is supposed to do?"

"Not."

"Then yes. It would in fact be an incredibly stupid thing to do. Go. Bring me the entire sequence when you have it."

Harry smiled and jumped up. "Thanks!" He ran to the door, broke all the spells, and yanked the door open.

"Don't run in the halls."

He hitched his bag on his shoulder. "Yes, professor."

------------------------

The common room was empty and the fire cracked periodically. Harry shifted and curled up more.

The last stair of the girls' side squeaked. Hermione tightened her robe and slid into the chair across from him. "I sent the letter off to my parents, so I should get the book sometime this week." She leaned closer to the fire. "Can't you sleep?"

He shrugged. "Weird dreams."

"Like what?"

"The usual. Dumbledore dancing. Professor Snape dressed in pink."

"Do you expect me to buy that, Harry?"

He rubbed his forehead. "Not particularly. It's just voices. Talking about playing to my new strengths and using what I have. I think that it's coming." He rested his head on the armrest. "I don't want to fight yet."

She wiggled into the chair with him and laid her head on his chest. "What are the chances that it's a ritual to defeat evil from very far away?"

Harry wrapped his arms around her. "I doubt they're good. It wouldn't be as impressive without a face to face, violent, and impressive confrontation."

She half sat up and faced him. "Let's think about this logically. What are your new strengths?"

Harry puffed out his cheeks. "Perhaps singing, dressing in drag, and convincing people that I'm gay."

She buried her face in his shoulder, giggling.  
He fingered the ends of her fair. "A much improved potions grade, an understanding about the theory and working of magic. I know about the history of the world and, I don't know, I know what the best Chinese food is? What do they want?" He glanced down. Hermione was asleep. He shifted a little and slid into a comfortable position. "I make a good pillow too." He stared into the fire for a few minutes then closed his eyes.

-------------

"Harry, Hermione. You might want to wake up now."

Harry blinked and tried to stretch, but his leg was held down, so he yawned and stretched his back a little from side to side. Hermione was fast asleep. "Hermione. Wake up." She didn't move. "Did you forget the pop quiz today?"

She started. "I didn't have it in my planner. When did--" She smacked Harry and glanced at the clock. "Ugh. I'm going back to sleep." She cracked her neck and yanked her robe down. "Thanks for waking us up, Neville. My neck hurts already."

He nodded as she stumbled up the stairs. He glanced back at Harry and bit his lip. "I'm sorry. I just wondered where you were."

Harry stood, threw his arm around Neville's shoulders, and steered him up the stairs. "Don't worry. I was just moping in the common room, and Hermione was trying to cheer me up. I think. Well, I feel a little cheered up, so I'll give her the credit." He yawned. "At least I'm tired now."

---------------------

The breakfast owls came and went without Hedwig making an appearance.

Hermione poked at her eggs. "Maybe my parents can't find the book. If they put it away in the attic it could take a little longer. They put so much stuff away this summer that the attic is filled with boxes."

Harry patted her shoulder. "Don't freak, Hermy. I'm fine. Why don't you tell at Ron for something? It might make you feel better."

"Hey." Ron threw a piece of buttered toast, but Harry managed to avoid it. "Do we have to go to Transfigurations today? I still can't manage the mammal alterations."

"Well if you'd practiced last night instead of playing chess--" Hermione stopped when Harry kicked her leg. "Um, did you try moving your wand in slightly larger circles? That and visualizing a little more should help a lot."

Ron blinked a few times then smiled. "Thanks."

The first bell rang, and they grabbed their bags and hurried to class.

--------------------

Severus stalked the aisles as the students chopped and stirred. A snowy owl flapped and set down in the doorway, left open to minimize the fumes. Harry's owl allowed him to take the package from him, and he flew back down the corridor. Severus dropped the package onto his desk, nodded to Harry, and resumed his circuit of the room.

The class ended with no explosions and only one completely useless potion. Harry waited until the room emptied except for himself and Miss Granger, shut and locked the door with two quick spells, and ran to the desk. He handed the letter to Miss Granger and tore open the package.

She ripped open the envelope and scanned the page inside. "Ok, from what I could describe they're guessing that it's page sixty-nine."

Harry flipped forward and smiled. "This is it. The text is worked around the trunk, and the top and bottom are the same size even." He leaned closer and pointed to a darker spot. "Look at that. The shadows I couldn't figure out. They're people. Climbing the tree."

Severus pulled his eyes away from the book. "You'll be late for your next class if you don't hurry."

Miss Granger swore and stuffed the letter into her bag. "Come on, Harry."

He tucked the book under his arm and scooped up the bag. "I'll bring you copies later tonight."

They rushed out, their heels clicking down the hall.

"What kind of spell is in a muggle book?" He unspelled the door. The third year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws began to stream in, and another class began.

--------------------------

The papers came hand-delivered by one very hyper Harry Potter ready to conduct his very own ancient spell research instead of sleeping or studying or doing his schoolwork.

Severus took the papers and pressed down on Harry's shoulder until he stopped bouncing. "You will eat, you will sleep, you will study, and we will speak each night to see what the other has discovered."

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "All right, but will you floo these to Biara and see what they make of it there? Cali did start this, after all, and she'll get to see what her tree looks like finally." He held out another set of copies.

Severus took the pages. "I will. Now go do whatever it is you were doing to get all that energy."

"Right. Eat more chocolate. Understood. Goodnight, Professor Snape." He saluted and ran toward the stairs.

One rather long conversation with his worried sister later, he poured himself a cup of coffee and settled into his armchair with the papers.

-----------------

"So what we need to do is look at all three parts separately and then figure out how they fit and work together. We'll split into teams for the parts. Hermione and Neville take the potion section." Harry laughed. "Don't look so scared, Neville. This potion is old, so some of the ingredients may have changed their names. I need someone who knows their Herbology. Ron and I have got the charm section. I'm going to be double teaming on the potion, so Hermione, you can also help Ginny with the middle from the story since it's familiar to you. It's obviously too late to go to the library tonight, so I thought we could just brainstorm ideas and eat obscene amounts of candy."

Ron smacked his hand away from the candy pile. "I think you've had enough. Why don't you just breathe for a moment?"

Harry frowned and dropped onto the pillows on the floor. "If you're telling me to lay off the candy, then I must be comatose. Okay, then, who has ideas? Let's start with someone who's not Hermione." He easily ducked the pillow.

"Fairy tales? Cool. I loved this book." Dean took the book off the table and started flipping through it.

Harry smiled. "Turn to page sixty or so and tell me if you recognize the story."

Dean shrugged and flipped pages. "Hey, this one was one of my favorites. Are we telling the purebloods fairytales?"

Harry clapped his hands. "Kindof. Want to join our little group? We think that story might contain real magic?"

"Yes!" Dean nodded. "I knew it couldn't all be fake. I'm in."

"Wonderful. You're working with Ginny and Hermione. We're brainstorming how to go about researching. Ginny can fill you in on the rest later. For the charm, I was thinking about talking to Flitwik. Cali found it randomly in a book on fairies, so I can pose it as an honestly confused question as to its purpose and how it relates to fairies."

Hermione fiddled with the corner of the parchment. "I'm not sure I'll be able to find anything on the potion since it was in an ancient book to begin with. We may need the restricted section."

Harry waved his hand. "That's already covered with two continents of restricted books. Se--Professor Snape said that it's an activator potion, an old one that they figured out how to strengthen years ago, so I'd check in books on the history of potions. What I'm really looking for is whether the ingredients react in any special way. Maybe the point of the potion wasn't to activate anything in the first place, but since it did that, that's what people remembered." He scratched his forehead. "All of the pieces, except for the middle, are only found in first edition, ancient books that no one seems to read anymore. So I think that either the knowledge disappeared because it wasn't particularly useful or because someone wanted it gone."

"Wanted it gone, but keeping a record of it's existence." Ron took the fairy tales from Dean. "What's the story about?"

Hermione chewed on her lip. "Oh, it's been years. Something about extinguishing an evil wizard threatening the kingdom, I think."

Dean shifted on the arm of the couch. "And saving the whole world, but not ending fighting. There's something about two farmers that keep killing each other's sheep."

Hermione smacked her leg. "And it's the two boys, the ones that come out of nowhere, out of the fields or woods or something, that stop the wizard. With some ritual or something. Right?"

"Yeah. That sounds about right."

Ron tapped his fingers on the book. "Two boys come out of nowhere, use magic to get rid of a dark wizard, but not end the villagers attacking each other in their normal lives, and leave enough behind to give the muggles a lead on how to use the magic if they need it again."

Hermione leaned back in the chair. "In a time when magic was accepted."

"When the magical community hadn't fully excluded itself." Ginny nudged Dean. "And wizards could help out in muggle conflicts without having anyone put them on trial."

Harry smacked the floor. "Fairies! They used to be believed in by everyone. And natural remedies today are what's left of potions knowledge in the muggle world." He stood and paced between the chairs. "Stories are fun. And fictional. They're passed on from parents to children without having to be written down." He gripped the back of the chair. "Muggles don't have preservation or protection charms for books. If they were all muggle books it would be easy for them to be destroyed leaving only a few copies left."

Neville coughed. "That the ministry finds and confiscates when the two communities separate because muggles can't know about magic anymore."

Harry threw himself into Ron's lap and messed up his hair. "Have I ever mentioned that I love you?"

Ron patted Harry's head and pushed him to the floor. "Yeah, that's great. Don't do that again. One set of rumors per year is all I can take."

Harry laughed. "Yeah, right. At least the whole school hasn't seen you in your boxers."

Ginny snorted and burst into laughter. "Sorry, sorry. Mental picture reappearing."

The first pillow missed her but the next few didn't, and soon the whole group jumped into the pillow fight that degenerated into a wrestling match with Harry on the bottom.

---------------------------------

Harry spent an hour the next night with his head in the fire bouncing ideas off Cali that ended in the decision that Ron was probably right about the spell and, if so, Voldemort was a goner.

He cracked his neck three times and sat back on his butt, rubbing his knees. "Thanks, Professor Snape. Did you find anything?"

He rolled his eyes. "Pathetically, not as much as you, but this potion is very interesting."

"Why?" Harry hopped up and perched on the chair next to his desk.

"The procedure is slightly off from that of the activator potion. It's just several small differences."

"Any idea what it would change of the end product?"

"None. That is, I have no idea. I was going to make a batch and do some tests, but a few of the ingredient names are old names that weren't in the books I had available last night. I haven't had the chance to look them up yet."

Harry smiled and pulled a page out of his bag. "Then I guess it's a good thing that I set Neville to just that task. One of them could be two things. He said something about them being thought to be the same plant until a few hundred years ago, but I really have no idea what he was talking about."

Professor Snape took the page and ran his finger down it. "The flower is the normal ingredient for the activator potion. The other has drastically different properties, though they do seem very similar on the surface. Hm, I'll have to look into it." He leaned back in the chair and steepled his fingers.

Harry picked up his bag. "Well, then I'll leave you to it. I have charms work to doand my own section to research. Same time tomorrow?"

Professor Snape nodded and dipped his quill in the pot.

"All right. Bye then." He had to stop himself from skipping down the hall, but he let himself run up the stairs and got to the common room quickly. Neville sat by the fire with his Transfiguration book. Harry threw himself into the chair across from him. "Neville, you are wonderful."

He paused and let the book drop to his lap. "Okay. Why?"

"That one ingredient that could be one of two things may be what makes the potion we want not an activator potion."

"Really?"

"Yep. There's also a few steps that are slightly different. Professor Snape wants to try and make a batch once he figures out all the ingredients and such." He pulled his feet onto the chair and closed his eyes. "It's so close. Like I can feel it."

"Feel what?"

Harry let his head drop back. "Freedom. It's not seeming so scary right now." He shook himself and glanced at the clock. "I've got to go. I'm meeting Ron to talk with Flitwik. I'll see you later."

"Okay. Bye, Harry."

Harry waved, ran to his room to switch the books in his bag, and took off for the charms corridor.

--------------------

Harry yawned and scratched out the last line of his transfiguration essay. The talk with Flitwik had gone on for two hours and hadn't told them much beyond the fact that the charm seemed to be designed to unite and direct various elements or energies or something, and he had no idea what it could have to do with fairies. He yawned again and scratched his nose. Okay, so the most important part of the transfiguration is the concentration at the beginning about what you are going to do. Scattered thoughts lead to a big mess and a mistransfigured partner. As with the reptilian transfigurations, knowing the anatomy of the animal you create is helpful, but only a basic knowledge of the appearance or conception of the animal will allow you to create that transformation. Harry tossed the quill onto the table and rubbed his nose.

"You should rest more." The girl's red hair fell over her shoulder as she picked up his quill and rested it on the blotter.

Harry looked around, but the common room was empty. Even the fire, just crackling, was cold. "What's going on? Who are you?"

She pulled a cross out of her shirt and moved it along the chain, the metal scraping. "You need help. You called. We heard. You found the books?"

He pressed his cross against his chest and scooted back in the chair. "Um, yes. The tree ones?"

She smiled and giggled. "Yes. The tree ones. You're doing well. We see all you've learned. But you haven't figured it out yet. What's missing. How to put everything together. You aren't thinking of your new strengths."

"And what are those? I don't think wearing a corset or singing is going to defeat Voldemort."

She shrugged. "We suppose that is true. But you are close, in a way. Your greatest weapon combined with your newest strength. One in the same. If correct, you shall conquer. Possibly."

"Possibly?"

"The world is possibilities, Harry. Do we see anything if we see but one?"

"It would be easier if you'd just tell me what to do."

She inclined her head. "Why shall we tell you that which you know?"

He fell back against the chair. Nothing was ever easy. "Yeah. I guess. We'll probably figure it out. We usually do." He glanced around and slid forward. "Thank you."

"You are welcome. Be well, Harry." She unhooked the necklace and laid it on the table.

"Mate, wake up." Ron shook his arm.

Harry bolted awake and rubbed his nose. The common room wasn't packed, but a dozen or so students dozed over assignment, and one tossed crumpled parchment onto the dying fire.

Hermione turned his face toward her. "Are you okay? You zoned out or something."

He smiled. "Yes. I'm fine. Sorry. I was just thinking." He hugged her with one arm. "Don't worry so much. I'm just distracted. We're getting so close to figuring out the spell stuff that I'm a little out of it. It's nothing horrible." He glanced down. "At least I managed to finish the assignment first. I'm going to go think, or something, before bed. Night, guys."

In his room, he set his books on his trunk, toed off his shoes, and climbed into bed. With the curtains closed, he lit his wand and pulled the cross necklace out. He wrapped his fingers around it. He could feel dulled emotions, so he dropped it quickly. Cali had her necklace on. "Whoops." We must have accidentally invited some extra guests in, even with the necklaces powered down as far as they are. He fingered the clasp but dropped his arms, leaving it on. We won't ask 'what's the worse that could happen', but maybe I'll get another clue. Sure she took off the necklace, but it's not like she actually had it on in the first place, right? He changed into his pajamas and slid under the covers. What's like cross-dressing and singing but not? He yawned and set his glasses on the table. Wearing girl's clothes without being a girl? Hm. Acting like something you're not. He forced his eyes open for a third time and gave up. Oh well. I'll figure it out eventually. "Nox." He slid the wand under his pillow and closed his eyes.

-----------------------------

Thanks for reading everyone. Drop a review. Tell me where you think this is going, or where you hope this is going, or whatever your thoughts are. I'm a creative writing major, so I thrive on feedback and am very used to criticism. Don't be scared. :)


	43. All for one and one for all goodbye

Disclaimer. Harry Potter is so not mine. Cali and the Academy, on the other hand, are. Don't steal them without permission or they'll get testy.

* * *

So, this update is coming out sooner than I had really expected. Thanks to the neighbors from hell, I finished this story at one o'clock yesterday, well today I suppose. And thanks to a desire not to research for my paper or read I present this, the last chapter, the end. It's weird, knowing that I'll never write this again. I hope you enjoy it. HUGS

* * *

The three pages were pushed around the table as people made notes of what they'd come up with. Harry took another bite of eggs while he scratched out what Flitwik had told them about the charm before pushing it toward Ron for his two cents. Everyone managed to finish before the bell rang, and he gathered the pages and slid them into his Potions book. An owl landed next to his plate and ruffled her feathers. Harry untied the letter and the owl took off. 

The bleached envelope crinkled as he fiddled with the corners.

Dean nudged Harry's shoulder. "Are you going to read that?"

Harry smiled and shoved it among his notes. "Later, I think. We don't have a lot of time before class." He stood as the bell rang. "See?"

Hermione linked her arm with his and dragged him off through the crowd, finally slowing down as they rounded the corner. "Letter from Cali?"

He cleared his throat and shook his head. "No. It's from Jason. He does this loopy think with his h's." He shrugged and pulled her forward. "Come on. We've got to start moving or we'll be late." It took a few more tries, but he got her moving.

Potions took forever. He had to correct his potion with extra ingredients four times when he stirred too slowly or too violently or put in the wrong amount of an ingredient. The bell finally rang and they set their bottles on his desk as they headed out of the class.

"Mr. Potter, you will remain behind."

"Yes, sir." He waved Hermione to go on to class without him. When the door closed he stepped around his table. "We haven't found anything new. It's only been--"

"What is wrong?" You have made that potion before. It should not have been that complex for you to confuse so often."

Harry ducked his head. "I just got a letter. That's all."

Professor Snape lowered himself into his chair. "Did they have anything to report? Is something wrong there?"

"I haven't read it yet. I got it just before class." He pulled his hair over his face as much as he could. "I didn't want to open it in front of everyone."

"Perhaps you should open it now instead of putting your friends at risk in Transfiguration?"

"I--uh--no. I'll be able to concentrate. Yes. I'll be fine. I'll come back tonight. As promised. Yeah." The bell rang. "I'm late. I have to hurry."

"Harry, wait." He took a piece of parchment and signed it with his usual flourish.

Harry took the pass and slipped it into his pocket. "Thanks. Bye." He picked up his bag, ran through the hallways, and reached the transfiguration classroom only a few minutes later. He handed over the pass and slid in next to Ron.

"You okay, mate?"

"Yeah. Everything's okay." He bent over his parchment and started scratching out the notes. After class he told them he was heading to the kitchen and ran to the dorm once they rounded the corner. He pounded up the stairs, jumped onto his bed, and yanked the curtains shut. "Lumos." He took the slightly crinkled envelope out and tore the side open.

You have to be careful. You have to get out. I've done the spread twenty-six times and I can't think it's wrong anymore. You can't cast the spell, Harry. Some needed part is nowhere near you. I can't figure out what it is. None of us can. We don't know what to do anymore. Please don't get yourself hurt for nothing.

I love you

Your brother

Jason

"Nox." He flipped onto his stomach and laid his head on his folded arms. "Damn it."

* * *

McGonagall pulled the curtains open after her shoes had clicked quickly across the floor from the door, avoiding the clothes strewn everywhere. "Mr. Potter, are you ill?" 

He pushed his head farther under the pillow. "No."

She pulled the covers off of him. "Then why did you not attend any of your afternoon classes? Your roommates said you refused to leave your bed."

He yanked the covers back over him. "So? Is there a point? What's so great and important about classes? We're all going to die. Does it matter whether I'm at class or in bed?"

She turned his head to face her. "Has something happened? Are you having visions again?"

The door slammed shut. "Mr. Potter, get out of bed."

Harry turned away from Professor Snape. "Just leave me alone. It's worthless. All of it. Why should I have to get up?"

Professor Snape grabbed his arms and dragged him off the bed. "What did the letter say?" When Harry didn't respond he leaned over and picked up the letter from under the pillow. "You are putting all your faith in divination?"

"Jason knows what he's doing. He's only been wrong a few times and he was iffy about those."

Professor Snape crumpled the paper and threw it to the floor. "We will find it. They are three thousand miles away and not omniscient. Go get your missed work, do your homework, and stay out of the bloody bed unless you're sleeping."

"Severus, what do you think you're doing?" McGonagall pulled him away from Harry. "You cannot just--"

Harry uncrumpled the letter, shoved it into his trunk, put his books in his bag, and walked to the door. "I'd better go find Hermione to get the notes I missed." He slipped out the door and closed it on them arguing. He slid his arm around Dean's shoulder on the way down and turned him back toward the common room. "You don't want to go up there right now. McGonagall and Snape are having a bit of an argument."

"In our dorm?"

"Yeah. Whoops. Sorry about that."

Dean let himself be hurried down the stairs and kept Harry close to him when they reached the bottom. "Are you feeling better? You were completely out of it today."

With a sigh, Harry rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I think maybe I was. The Academy hit a dead end on the kill Voldemort problem. I may have overreacted just a bit."

Dean led him to where everyone else sat doing their homework in a corner. "The genius kids can't figure _everything_ out. Sometimes you need an idiot. Right, Ron?"

Harry sat next to Hermione as the two guys smacked each other. When they started in with pillows he leaned closer to her. "Um, so Jason said that something was missing and trying was pointless and would only get me hurt. I got a little depressed, but Professor Snape has been quite clear about why I shouldn't miss classes again. Can I borrow your notes?"

She pushed them over. "I already copied them for you." She squeezed her shoulder. "At least you didn't skip potions."  
He smiled wryly and picked up the first parchment. "Yeah, that would have been really bad."

* * *

Harry threw himself into his classes and after a week Snape stopped glaring at him during every meal. Unfortunately, he had plenty of time to devote to his homework as all progress had stopped on the spell and even Professor Snape admitted that the potion needed something to activate it that he couldn't figure out. 

Christmas break loomed; Harry had been invited to the Weasleys, to stay at Grimwald place with Remus, and to travel to the Academy, but Dumbledore wouldn't give him a straight answer as to where it was safe to go.

He laid in the dark an hour after he'd gotten into bed, still staring at the ceiling.

Dean's shoes slid across the floor to where he kept them under the bed and smacking into the bed post as usual. "You're going home for Christmas this year, Ron?"

Ron shoved his books off the edge of his bed onto his trunk. "Yep. Harry's not staying at Hogwarts this year. Mum's ecstatic that I'm finally coming home for Christmas. She's planning this huge family get together for this year."

"I hear Harry's got a few places to go this year. Any idea which he's going to choose?"

"No, but maybe The Academy. I'm sure he'll like to be on top of everyone, I mean everything, there." The two guys laughed, said goodnight, and pulled their curtains shut.

Everyone was in bed and asleep an hour later.

Harry sat up and pulled his knees to his chest, chewing on his thumb.

* * *

Severus almost smiled as he stalked through the halls. Only six students remained over the holidays, and none of them were his Slytherins. If the world was perfect he could have a relaxing vacation for once. He froze as something clattered to the floor. Nothing was ever perfect. The hallway was mostly in shadow as the sun set, but he still slunk forward slowly. Harry sat, curled up in the window. That boy never made anything simple. He stood tall and strode forward. "Harry, what are you doing here?" 

The boy shrugged and slid closer to the glass, his feet almost tucked under his body.

Severus reached out and turned Harry's face toward him. "By _here_ I was referring to Hogwarts, not the window. Why are you not with the Weaslys, or Lupin, or Biara?" He was supposed to be away somewhere forgetting everything he'd learned and having pointless fun. "Couldn't you choose between all your admirers?"

Harry pulled away and jumped to the floor. "I just thought everyone would be happ--safer if I stayed here. It's not a big deal."

He was skittish again. That wasn't going to make this any easier. Severus walked by his side down the hall. "I would imagine your friends would disagree. How did you convince them?"

Harry scratched his ear, looking around, then sighed. "Round robin."

Severus grasped his arms and pulled him to a stop. "What does that mean exactly?"

Harry slumped against the wall. "The Weasleys and Remus think I'm at the Academy and I told Cali I was going to be with Remus, which means that everyone thinks I can't be contacted and I didn't sign up to stay until the last minute, so I'll be safe."

"And completely away from your friends for several weeks."

"So what? I can be safe and so can everyone else, and they can all enjoy time with their families."

"And what about Lupin? He doesn't have any family to visit."

Harry snorted. "When I told him I was worried about him being alone if I went to New York he said he had plans to go with Tonks to visit her parents if I didn't want to spend Christmas trapped in the house." He ran his hands through his hair. "Look, I'm fine. I know I'm moping right now, but it's no big deal. It's just a litter weird getting used to it being so quiet. I've never been here over break without Ron." He pulled away, ran up the stairs, and turned down the first corridor he came to.

Severus sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I wouldn't adjust to it too much." He spun and stalked back to his office.

* * *

Harry sat at the small round table avoiding Dumbledore's eyes as they waited for Professor Snape before they started the meal. He finally showed up seven minutes later and the food appeared as he sat. 

He ate as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself, hard to do with so few people to hide him, but Hedwig flew in and landed on his shoulder as he was about to leave. "Hey girl. Good hunting?"

The side door to the Great Hall slammed open. "Very good. I hear she caught a first edition book of fairy tales in the original language." Cali snapped the book in her hand shut. "And if you think I am anywhere near to forgiving you for this stunt right now, you're so very wrong and quite possibly deluded."

Harry scowled at Snape and Hedwig took off as he stood. "Narc." He turned and half ran to Cali. "Um, sorry? I, uh, had the best intentions? Or--ow." He rubbed his shoulder as she pulled the book back toward her.

"You will come to the library and do homework with us. We took the liberty of gathering your things from the dorm." She turned on her heel and clicked her way toward the main door.

"Yes, ma'am." He stayed out of her range as he walked to the doors. He caught up and passed her ten feet from the entrance. "I missed you."

She threw herself at his back and propelled him through the doors. "I missed you too." She kissed the back of his neck. "Now let's move so everyone else has their chance to berate you too. I wouldn't want to leave them out."

"Great." He let out a deep breath.

As soon as he stepped through the door Jason wrapped his arms around him. "I meant this kind of hurt too, Harry."

Harry squeezed back and buried his face in Jason's shoulder. "I thought it was for the best."

"We've changed 'the best'; welcome to it." Cali pulled out a chair in the middle of a long table. "Now have a seat and write about the world of potions while I translate Medieval German."

"Why are you translating--"

Her one finger in the air silenced him. "You have not regained the right to ask questions. Sit."

Jason squeezed his arm as Harry jogged over to the table, slid into the chair, and opened his potions book.

An hour later, his potions essay was finished, and Cali was humming while balancing the chair on two legs. It hit the ground and half the table jumped and glanced up from their books. "Does anyone have the current, muggle fairytale book on them?"

Kyle took a book out of his bag and passed it down.

After flipping pages and comparing the books and her notes, she started laughing. Everyone ignored it until she'd slid out of her chair and under the table, still laughing hysterically.

Someone shook the table. "Just tell us what's funny already."

It took a few false starts, but she finally got her explanation out. "The two boys that vanquished the wizard were friends. That's what the current story says." She had to take a few breaths and then crawled out from under the table. "'Friends' is a very Victorian translation for the original word meaning something a bit closer."

Harry felt his face heat. "You mean they were lovers?"

Cali shut the book. "Yep. Something along those lines. And that's the only difference I can find. So if the hidden secret is in the story then that's it.

His head hit the table. "So the secret's a sex ritual or something? Great."

"Don't be so pessimistic." She slammed the book next to his head. "All right boys and girls. Set up a circle with our seer in the center. Let's see what we can get."

Bags of candles, crystals, and herbs seemed to come from everywhere, and they moved to a clear area. Jason anointed himself with oil and sat in the center with a bag of runes and three decks of tarot cards. Harry took his place in the circle, pressed his palms to those on either side, and closed his eyes. The chanting started to his left and moved randomly around the circle, everyone adding a line at their turn. He could feel the power building and flowing past him in circuits. His eyes opened with a gasp as energy filled him.

Jason's eyes locked with his then darted to the card under his fingertips. "Who're your brothers?"  
"You."

"Who has what you need when you need it?"

"Neville." Harry shook his head and tried to push against the energy. "Draco."

Jason shook his head slightly and the hands holding his tightened. "Who got you this spell? Everything you needed."

"Cali, Draco, and Hermione, Neville and Professor Snape figured out the potion."

At Jason's nod the hands left and the energy fled. He saw everyone catching themselves on the floor before things faded.

* * *

Something poked his side. He tried to squirm away, but he couldn't move. The poking came back and he managed to smack it away. 

"Hey, sunshine. You're nearly conscious. So if you can hear me, just relax. Your magic is drained, so you'll need another few hours of sleep before you feel normal again. We'll let everyone know what happened, well, at least that you're sleeping, at dinner. We've found a very enthusiastic house elf to watch you and make sure you get to eat when you wake up." Lips brushed his forehead. "I guess we should be happy. We're lucky that Mom's not here."

He let himself drift off again.

His back spasmed and he flipped onto his stomach.

"Harry Potter sir is awake." Dobby clutched his hands and jumped up and down. "Is Harry Potter sir hungry?"

Harry sat up and ran his hands through his hair. "Hi, Dobby. I'd love something to eat. Thank you."

With a snap, three trays appeared on the table next to the bed.

Chicken, pumpkin juice, and four kinds of dessert. Harry smiled and dug in; his energy finally coming back.

Cali ran into the room and stumbled when she caught sight of him. "Oh good. You're awake. I guess I can say sorry right now then."

Professor Snape slammed the door open. "Is this the reason I do not do anything nice? Everything just gets screwed up and I end up regretting ever helping anyone. What did you do, Mr. Potter?"

Harry licked the last of the cake off his fork. "Hey, that's not fair. For once, I did nothing." He scrunched his nose. "Well, except magic. I did some magic. Does magic count?"

Cali pulled the fork out of his hand. "Um, perhaps you have had too much sugar."

"Four chocolate desserts. I like them." He looked between them and took a deep breath. "But I will stop acting crazy. What's the problem?"

Professor Snape took out his wand and started casting diagnostic spells. "Perhaps the problem is that you lost consciousness." He lowered his wand. "However, you appear to be in good health. Do not do it again and be sure to be at breakfast tomorrow. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. Of course. Have a good day, er, night?"

Professor Snape shook his head and left the common room muttering under his breath.

Harry waited until the portrait swung shut and spun to face Cali. "So, what did we learn?"

Cali smiled and hopped onto the bed next to him. "Everything. I think we can pull this off."

* * *

At three in the morning the four groups were, except for Harry, mysteriously missing from Hogwarts grounds. 

Harry hopped back into the window that looked over the side entrance they'd snuck out of and pressed his nose against the glass until he bumped his glasses and pulled back.

"Still moping, Harry?" Professor Snape stepped out of the shadows. "I didn't think that Morganna would allow you out of her sight except to make excuses for you."

"We're going to cast the spell. However, we lacked certain components."

Professor Snape moved to the other side of the window and looked out. "They left the grounds? Do they want Biara to string me up by my thumbs?"  
Harry laughed and then coughed. "Sorry. I'm sure they don't want you strung up by your thumbs, especially since you seem to be one of the components, but there might be a few more people wanting to string us all up before this is over." He shrugged. "How long does the potion take to brew?"

He leaned forward, bracing his shoulder against the corner of the wall. "Perhaps an hour, but it might take two. You seems to be in a bit of a rush with the preparations all of a sudden. When are you planning to do this?"

"Tonight, I hope, since things might get a little hairy if we don't since when Neville's grandmother realizes that he's not in the house anymore she'll probably completely freak."

"What?"

The figures slipped out of the forest, so Harry slid off and walked toward the door.

Cali and Kyle slipped in the cracked door, Neville between them with a bag clutched to his chest.

"Hi, Neville. I know that you're probably completely freaked out, but let's go to the common room and I'll explain. Well, explain a bit while we wait for the others."

"Mr. Potter." Professor Snape crossed his arms over his chest.

Harry took Neville's arm and pulled his quickly toward the stairs. "Don't worry, Professor Snape. I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow."

When they were halfway to the common room, Harry relaxed and pulled Neville closer to his side. "I really appreciate you coming, Neville. This is all strange, but we think the spell will work best if we're together as much as possible before hand, and we want to be able to cast it today if we can manage it."

"And you think Hogwarts would be the strongest place to cast it from?"

Harry stepped back and tilted his head to the side. "What?"

Neville stopped walking. "Well, that's why you're here. Right? You left for the Academy the same day we left, didn't you?  
"Oh, yeah. Well, Hogwarts has so much ambient magic that--"

Cali shoved him forward. "Come on, everyone else should be back soon. Then we can explain both how the spell is going to work and how you told everyone you were going somewhere else so you could sit alone here and mope."

Harry stomped down the hall out of her reach. "I was not moping."

"Severus said you were moping."

"Once! I can't get a little depressed over the quiet?"

"Not when you lie to everyone in order to get it."

Harry grasped her arms, t-shirt sliding back and pulling tight across her chest. "I didn't want you dead." Damn it. He turned away and walked quickly toward the tower. He gave the password and the portrait swung open. Hermione lay curled up on the couch in red and white snowflake pajamas.

She cracked her eyes open and yawned. "Hello, Harry. I assume it's important since we're all here, but nothing's enough to get me out of these pajamas in the middle of the night, so if anyone has a problem you're going to have to curse them for me, okay?"

Harry perched on the edge and ran his hand along her arm. "Fuzzy. I don't think I'd change either. Did you tell your parents you were leaving?"

"I left them a voicemail. They're at a three day conference. Hi, Neville. Why is Cali glaring?"

Neville shrugged at Harry. "Harry lied about his Christmas plans. He stayed here alone."

Hermione's eyes snapped open. She opened and closed her mouth a few times and then smacked Harry. She waved off his exclamation and him rubbing his arm and poked her finger repeatedly into his chest. "This is for whatever thought process got you to the conclusion that sitting alone in Hogwarts for Christmas would be safer or whatever for whoever you were trying to be nice to or protect or whatever."

He stood and walked to the chair by the fire. "Well then, should I apologize now or wait until everyone has had their chance to bitch at me?"

"Oh, I'd wait. I wouldn't want to miss my turn." Draco looked around. "So this is the Gryffindor common room? How very, red it is?"

Cali clapped her hands and spread her arms to the side. "Well, well, the gang's all here. Except Uncle Sev of course, but I can fill him in tomorrow. Let's hold off on making Harry feel miserable about lying for a little while since this is slightly more important." She perched on the arm of the couch. "So here's why you're going to come to hate each other over the next twelve hours."

* * *

Harry started to flip himself onto his stomach but stilled and scratched his nose. There was no way he couldn't sleep on this giant, square mattress when everyone kept moving and touching him. Someone's leg brushed his, and he yanked his knee to his chest. 

"Relax. It's okay." Jason pushed his knee down and pulled Harry against his chest. "Just breathe and let yourself sleep. Everything will be okay."

Harry released his breath and leaned into Jason. "This is weird. I don't like it."

"I know. You--well one of the yous around this summer, anyway--didn't enjoy our sleepover either. You said the problem was that when you closed your eyes--"

"--If someone else is near me when I'm trying to sleep, then I'm in trouble. How do I make this stop?"

Jason shrugged. "I have no idea. Spend every night in someone's bed?"

Harry elbowed him and closed his eyes. "It's people like you that makes the world want to end. But don't worry, Kyle makes up for you."

"What? You want to go cuddle with Kyle?"

Harry laughed but it turned into a yawn. "No. I'll stay here. He's too pointy."

"Go to sleep."

"Hm."

* * *

Harry stirred six times counterclockwise then reached back and itched under Hermione's hand. 

She shifted her hand to the other side and scratched his spine with her free hand. "Sorry. Better?"

He sighed. "Yes. Does this have to simmer for six minutes or ten?"

Neville looked up at him and then reached for the book without moving too far away from Harry's leg. He opened to the bookmark and ran his finger down the page. "Ten minutes. And that's the end of what you marked as part two."

"All right. We're making good time then. Jason, are you finished slicing the leeks?"

He smacked Draco with his free hand, or at least the one without the knife in it, that was tied to Draco's wrist. "If Draco would stop yanking my arm then I could more easily cut these into exactly equal pieces."

"It itches. " Draco scowled. "Why do I have to be connected to him?"

Harry shook his head. "My my, Draco. I didn't have any idea. If you wanted to feel me up you should have just said so."

Draco stilled then pulled the vial of dragon's blood closer. "Three milliliters, correct?"

Harry shrugged. "Yep. Just don't mix the yew sap into the vial until right before it needs to go in or it will react too violently with the violet blossoms."

Cali pulled Professor Snape through the door, their wrists bound with a pink, silk scarf. "It's your fault for trying to get away. I'm trying to kill Voldemort. I think I've got the higher moral ground here, so don't think that you can get back at me for this later."

Professor Snape yanked his arm and she twisted and landed on her butt. "What moral ground do I receive due to my failure to eviscerate you in the past five hours?"

She giggled and used his leverage to get to her feet. "None. That's just called being related to me." She slowly managed to maneuver him over to the table. "How's the potion?"

The liquid streamed into the cauldron and the potion turned brown almost immediately. Harry and Jason cast a cooling spell over the whole thing and relaxed. "Completed." Jason smacked Draco's hand away again and filled the first bottle a bit more before snapping the top on. "So, we've got the potion and we understand the spell. What's left to do?"

Harry finished filling his half of the vials, cracked his neck, and pulled Hermione and Neville next to him. "Just to cast the spell."

Jason's snort of laughter broke in. "And getting quite close to each other."

"Don't be crude." Cali slid over. "Lunch just ended. With the Great Hall cleared of the few people left in the castle we can use the convergence to boost the spell so we're sure to off the bastard."

Neville cleared his throat. "We're sure we have all the parts we need? I mean, didn't Harry get depressed and skip classes because something was missing?"

"Yeah, the close, personal relationship between the boys in the story." Cali rolled her eyes and smacked Jason's arm.

"But, nothing's changed. How does our knowing that change anything?"

Hermione's fingers twitched and Neville squeezed Harry's hand tightly.

Jason shook his head. "No. We did the whole trance thing before shooing everyone else home to keep Mom in the dark. He said these were the people needed if the spell was going to work."

Harry pulled his hands away and felt the two resettle their grip on his shoulders as he leaned against the table. "Cali wants this in the Great Hall for a power boost. Maybe what's missing is enough power to work."

"We have seven witches and wizards. That amount of power has to beat the power of two wizards, I don't care what kind of relationship they had."

Harry curled his fingers around the table edge. "But how do you know their evil wizard wasn't just weak? And how is the spell supposed to know to attack Voldemort? For all we know it could just attack the nearest user of dark magic. It's not written specifically for him. What's the focus supposed to be?"

Professor Snape hissed and clenched his left fist. He tugged at the scarf and Cali quickly unknotted it. "I must go."

Cali grabbed his arm. "Wait!"

He shoved her off "_He_ waits for no one. I must go."

"Get your stuff and I'll meet you in the hall outside your room. I need a potion and thirty seconds and I think I can make you the focus." She pulled him toward the door and they ran in separate directions.

Three minutes later, Cali dashed back in. "Come on, guys. We don't have a lot of time. Voldemort might be able to detect my spell and know that something's wrong."

As one, they bolted through the door, each with their vial of potion, Hermione sealing the door from the end of the hall, and made it to the Great Hall in under two minutes as Snape reached the apparition point and dissolved away.

The large tables had been supplanted by one circular table in the front. Harry and Jason threw their robes to the floor and pulled their shirts off. The table shook as they jumped onto it, but held firm, so they sat back to back. Hermione and Neville climbed onto Harry's side and pressed their knees together to form a small circle as Cali and Draco did the same on the other side with Jason.

Cali passed Jason a gem. "That's connected to Uncle Sev."

He put it between his shoulder blades and leaned against Harry to hold it there.

They both reached out and rested their arms on the shoulders of the rest of their circle after pouring their vials of potion in a perfect circle.

The other four popped open their vials and created a line stretching nearly the diameter of the circle. They tossed the vials aside and pulled their fingers across the liquid, widening the base of the line near the two meditating boys and creating the branches on the other end. They joined hands and covered the two boys' hands with their own.

"Use as separate lives have none.

Taken as one it shall be done.

Nothing gained through evil deeds.

Freedom claims the deepest need.

Banishment now from this here plane

no more trace shall e're remain."

Yellow, flashing along with blue, faster and faster until they blurred together. The pain burst forth and slammed into Severus and he barely managed to keep from clutching his chest.

"Severus, come forward." The Dark Lord reclined on his throne, arm twisted slightly up and behind him as he stroked Nagini, wrapped around the chair.

Severus walked forward and dropped to his knees. "Yes, my lord?"

"It is time to move our plan forward. Potter is alone in his dorm for the break. You will bring him to me within three days. Subtlety has got us nothing with this boy. I believe overt violence will be more successful. Think of how the wizarding world will quake when we return the child in pieces. We shall have victory."

The others cheered and patted each others' shoulder as emphatically as they could without drawing their lord's attention to them.

Severus stood and took a step forward on every blue, yellow, blue, yellow, and on green shoved his hands against Voldemort's shoulders, his thumbs pressed against the protruding bones. "The time for subtlety is long over." The colors rushed in until they were overtaken by white.

* * *

Severus pushed the hand away and rolled onto his side. His head pounded, and rhythmically at that. 

"Severus, you have to get up before you're arrested."

He squinted up at Tonks. "What?"

She glanced behind her and grimaced. "Too late."

The head of the auror department strode over. "Well, here's Severus Snape." He looked around and held out his hand. "It seems that Mr. Potter said that the spell you cast to make yourself a conduit to kill He who Shall Not be Named would leave you pretty weak. Since you were knocked out with the rest of them, we should get you checked out by a healer."

Chris jogged over and squeezed the auror's shoulder. "Thank goodness you found him. I've been all across this field." The auror finally dropped his arm as Chris pulled Severus to his feet and steadied him for a few moments.

Men in black cloaks were bound across the field; Bellatrix Lestrange was cursing and yanking at the ropes as she was led to a group portkey.

The throne was charred though bits of bone remained scattered around it. "He's dead."

Chris squeezed his hand and led him toward the American aurors keeping watch over prisoners waiting to be transported. "Yes. Harry fire-called me to get aurors here when he felt Voldemort die. Though things got complicated when the bastard's soul somehow survived." Chris barely caught Severus before his knees hit the ground. "No! It's all right. They altered the spell and combined their magic to eliminate every trace of him." Chris waved someone over with a portkey. "Though I don't expect to ever hear the end of Cali insisting that tavern songs are an integral part of education as they can be used to kill dark lords." He smirked as the book portkey yanked them to the hospital wing.

Several semi and completely hysterical parents crowded the ward, hovering over their children. Chris led Severus to the nearest empty bed and hustled off to find Madam Pomfrey.

His back cracked a few times as he stretched it before settling back against the pillows. "What is the score?"

Chocolate smeared across Harry's cheek when he tried to wipe it off his mouth. He scrubbed it off his cheek and shrugged. "Uh, I think Hermione parents are winning since they just told her that the next time she leaves the house in the middle of the night to battle dark lords that she should leave a more descriptive message, but that could be because Hermione headed them off with talking about how much less danger everyone was in now and how she hadn't even come face to face with Voldemort to do it. Neville's grandmother seems to be rotating between excessive pride, anger, and relief, so we'll wait to see which she settles on. Biara berated us and then said that she thought that's what we were doing and she can't believe that we thought we could fool her by sending most of them back, and Draco's mom has renounced her husband and is across the room knitting, though I'm quite sure she has no idea how, so I'm reserving judgment there too. How are you doing? When you passed out I was worried that something went wrong."

"I am fine."

"I believe that decision is my job." Madam Pomfrey fussed over him a few minutes before declaring him exhausted, dosing him with a few potions, and forcing a block of chocolate on him.

* * *

Cali eased herself onto the bed next to Harry. "So, it's goodbye again, already." 

Harry nodded and slid over until he could smell her raspberry perfume. "This time I will be okay. I can function without everyone hovering over me."

Her head rested on his shoulder. "I don't see why you should. Sometimes it's nice to have someone hovering." She pulled her hair into her face. "I, uh, I talked to Dumbledore. He said it'd be safe for you to go wherever you want this summer because of how many of the death eaters they caught, especially the high level ones."

Harry looked away and sighed, picking at the sheets. "Yeah, I guess."

She turned his head back and pressed her lips to his forehead. "Don't stay away too long. You're our missing twelfth. Without you it's just eleven magical orphans and me." She sat up and wrapped her arms around him. "We'll always have a free bed for you."

He shifted a little, then lifted his arms and tightened them around her. "Thank you."

Jason cleared his throat and inclined his head toward the entrance to the hospital wing. "They're ready to go."

Cali nodded, stood, and hitched her bag onto her shoulder. "Harry, he's dead. This means that while you can't avoid your school work, you can have fun, and maybe not worry quite so much." She backed up. "Magic doesn't end with the practical, okay?" She turned and ran, slamming through the double doors.

Jason sighed and took Harry's head in his hands. "You can't avoid that we're all connected now, so don't try." He ruffled Harry's hair and walked to the door. "We'll see you this summer. Kyle's thinking about trying to make a replica of Hogwarts out of tinker toys, moving staircases and all." He winked and pushed through the doors.

Harry smiled into the stuffed penguin from Kyle, his 'stuck in the hospital wing' gift. Neville and Draco had probably never gotten to play with them at all. Sticking pieces of wood together doesn't seem quite like a pureblooded thing to do. Maybe Hermione could figure out how to make the wooden toys move without free-moving pivot points. He popped another piece of chocolate in his mouth and pulled out his pack of cards. "Up for a game?"

Professor Snape stepped out of the shadows next to the door and settled into the chair next to him. "As long as it will keep you out of trouble I suppose."

Harry smiled and dealt the first hand.

El Fin

* * *

Well, here we are. At the end. This monster has finally settled at it's resting place. I'm not planning a sequel. I've been working on this forever and it's time for me to move on. This story has followed me through my four years of college, and I hope you have enjoyed following it too. I'll see what I write next, if any fanfiction at all, but that will all come in time. I thank everyone who has made it to this point. It means a lot that you would choose to read my work and stick with it through the long pauses between chapters. I love you all. And especially thanks to my Maggie, for listening to me whine over this story for four years. HUGS to everyone.

Happy reading to all my reviewers. May you find many wonderful stories to fill your time.


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